NBC DATELINE On NBC`S DATELINE, Josh Mankiewicz refers to persons serving in the Armed Forces as America`s "best and BRIGHTEST." This is in direct contradiction to the opinion of one of our bravest, Vietnam/Cambodia military heroes, John F. Kerry, who said Americans become members of the military because they`re too dumb and supid to do anything else. I eagerly/gleefully await the sacrifice/WASTE from the total destruction of midtown Manhatten by Islamic nukes if that`s what it takes to rid the most magnificent nation on Planet Earth of communists and socialists.........and their leftist, looney lackeys (the "main-stream media"). .......Glenn in Virginia

Shame on you Josh, giving the rest of us a lecture on how polticians are incapable of telling it like it is and then couch your terms in the very same politically correct verbiage you seem to abhore. Did you not refer to the recent troop ESCALATION in Iraq with the Bushism, "surge?" If you're going to tell "them" to tell it like it is, perhaps you should start with yourself, or hire a better proof editor.

Another call for political boldness. Yeah, right. Those bemoaning cowardice among our politicians will be the first to be offended at the next declarative statement and will be the first to seek grief counseling. I don't blame our politicians. They're merely responding to the wishes of the citizens. The citizens demand that every day be sunny. They don't want the truth, so why give it to them.

WAR Overview: The classic definition of war must be revised. We have the technological power to not make it an organized conflict between two or more groups that involve large number of individuals. Simple solution: No matter what the issue, be it range from terrorism, sovereignty, territory, resources, religion, ideology, etc. a surgical elimination of the head of the instigating government is all that is needed. Simply make it clear that anyone supporting an issue contrary to humanity will be removed. No troops, occupation, or millions in material and resources.

i absolutely agree. these apologies are getting worse every election period about what ever poloticians do wrong. tell them to suck it up and start saying what they mean so the dont have to clean up an unnecessary mess. this is the U.S. we are aloud to say what we want to a certain extent

Yiu can see that all politicians are not honest regardless hwat party they belong. How many more our soldiers and innoncent iraq citizen lives and billios of billions of our tax money have to be wasted before some politcians say enough is enough. It is very sad that american people and many media can't see the war was immoral and illegal from the beginning. Can you see Bush and his govenment is detroying our nation and its value and what it stands for.

Say what you mean and mean what you say...too many thin skinned folks out there just don't get the idea of freedom of speech and honesty. I have my only child who the Marines just deployed last month to Iraq and I'd hate to think his patriotism is wasted. God bless our troops......oh my, is making reference to God not politically incorrect?

The politicians pander and they hold their fingers to the wind. A slip with their languade and they start back peddling from the truth into a lie. It makes it hard to vote, but I will try and wade through all the crap and do my civic duty... always.

Our soldiers lives were/are wasted in all honesty, both Senators are very intelligent men and in my opinion they meant to use that exact word; wasted. the lives of our boys in WWII, the Korean War, Vietnam for the most part, Grenada, Panama, and Somalia were sacrficed. They fought to promote democracy, protect American freedom, save American lives, and save the world from communism and fascism. In Iraq they die to protect the interests of MNCs (multi-national corporations) and scores of others who benefit from the gruesome business of warfare and of oil/enegergy. Sacrificed in my humble opinion simply means one dies for a cause more valuable than life itself, and wasted means that our brave men and women died for a cause that is significantly less valuable than their lives were. I.E, if one dies protecting his/her loved one(s) that is a sacrifice, but if one dies in order to increase Halliburton's influence that is wasted. The latter is akin to succumbing to a heroin overdose at a South American brothel; WASTED WASTED AND WASTED LIFE.

For the high crime of lying to start this war, and bu doing so, wasting the lives of our troops; first Cheney, then Bush, should both be Impeached.

My wife and I wholeheartedly agree that these lives have been wasted as can readily be seen in the word's definition. Unfortunately politicians, whether they be Democrats, Republicans or other, will always say what they believe is politically expedient. They rarely, if ever, will verbalize their "true" beliefs or feelings. And so goes the American political system, down the drain.

The friends and families of those who died in Iraq would understandably be upset if they came to a realization that their loved ones' lives were wasted or, put another way, that their loved ones "died in vain." So, here's a quick scenario: someone comes home from the war, having been involved in building many buildings, roads, . . . , whatever, in Iraq. Once he or she is home, this person crosses the street, and a car runs over and kills the person. Did this person now "die in vain"? Or, if you dedicate your life to building a fantastic home, only to have a tornado or earthquake destroy it, was all that work you did "wasted"? I'm not sure what the right word to use would be, but the war in Iraq was certainly a mistake. We shouldn't have gone in without the support of the rest of the world. And, I don't know if I'm the only one who seems to remember this, but Saddam was complying (relunctantly, yes, and very slowly, yes) with President Bush's demands concerning the destruction of his weapons and missiles. Bush, however, acted like the robot cop during the boardroom scene on "Robocop", when the guy put the gun down, but the robot cop still kept insisting that he put the gun down or else. Bush was stuck on destruct mode. There were no weapons of mass destruction because the Weapons Inspectors, who did an extremely thourough search, did not find any. (I honestly don't know what our congresspeople were thinking; hello?!) My last sentence illustrates the whole point here: If you are a politician, don't worry about whether you get to be President or not; worry about telling the truth. The truth may hurt you. People may vote against you if you tell the truth. But you must tell the truth. There's nothing wrong with being careful with your words, but there is something wrong with fabricating stuff. Tell the truth!! Will not having a truthful politician leading our nation hurt us? Yes. But if we are so afraid of the truth that we vote against someone who tells it, we get what we deserve, even if that destroys our nation. We are so busy shopping for crap at Walmart, hearing about every little bit of nonesense concerning Anna Nicole Smith, and getting brainwashed at megachurches that we don't turn a critical, educated eye to what's happening with our nation and the world. This will certainly destroy our democracy, if it hasn't already. We will be (or already are) a shell of what we could be, of what we should be. Come on, people! Before complaining too much about the politicians that we have, let's do something about the type of voters that we are! Get educated! Look at things critically! And get out and vote!

The war in Iraq is indeed a waste of human lives (both American and Iraqi). It is time U.S. presidents stop displaying this maverick attitude towards other countries. The world has changed, attitudes have changed, and the approach to warfare has changed. Any president who deliberately falsifies information to create a war will end up wasting lives and deserves to be impeached! This is exactly what Bush did. Come on Americans....open your eyes!

In my local newspaper, today I read a statement from a young man severely wounded in the early days of the war in Iraq. He said he was wounded protecting the rights and freedoms of this country and one of them was the freedom of speech. Now it seems that any word spoken in public is fair game for interpretation by the media . . . even when it is easy to understand what is meant by the context in which the word is used. Please, let's encourage our leaders to say what they really think rather than what they think is needed to make them look good.

Spin cycle is right, as a veteran and an American who can we trust? We are all mistaken from time to time. My thoughts are, If you want to take over as Commander and Cheif, than this is it, there has been innocent blood spilt and are you ready and capable to clean it up? and if so, you better not be wasting your time or mine time.....

America's servicepeoples lives were sacrificed through the incompetence of a wasteful US military policy. Former Viet Nam Era soldier now living abroad in country more free than the USA if using a libertarian or democracy (Jeffersonian) index.

The answer to this issue is to be found in The Declaration of Independence. “When in the Course of human events . . . We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. --That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes;” (e.g. This Administration’s term in office) “and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.” (Newton’s Law - an object at rest, will remain at rest, unless acted upon by an external force) “But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, IT IS THEIR RIGHT, IT IS THEIR DUTY, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. --Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain” (or in our case George W. Bush of Crawford, Texas) “is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.” I submit that; it is the DUTY of our Senators and Representatives in Congress, to throw off such Government as our Declaration of Independence instructs us to do. Most of our government is broken, but it does have in its design a system of IMPEACHMENT to address the circumstances we are faced with today. That part of our governments design will also be broken if it is circumvented and not used.

I think it is time to cut through all the verbiage and all the tricky headlines in order to address the truth: THE AMERICAN PEOPLE ARE SHEEP! We elect (or think we elect) a President and Senate and Congress. Do they carry out the will of the people? Not so far as I've seen. Is it the will of the people to have young people die because a war is good for big business? Is it the will of the people to have young people lose their limbs because they are in the middle of a civil war thousands of miles from home, where no weapons of mass destruction were ever found nor will be found -- and they lose their lives and limbs often due to not being equipped with proper arms and armor? Is it the will of the people to allow the decision makers to exempt their own families from serving in this war? Is it the will of the people to allow the decision makers to live by another standard entirely? They don't have to worry about Social Security -- they don't even partake of Social Security. They have voted themselves their very own retirement fund and have secured perfect medical coverage and will be paid their salaries from now until eternity. I digress, but can no one see that sheep are led to slaughter? We are being led -- by the govt, by that part of the media that is controlled by the govt, and by our own stupidity or wishful thinking -- we are being led to the slaughter, both abroad and at home -- and we have no one to blame but ourselves. When will we wake up and demand good government? We appear to be doomed...

Why aren't we all honest and state the truth: President Bush,Dick Cheney, and others, by invading a country (Iraq)for reasons that have proven to be untrue, wasted the lives of those who went to Iraq and are continuing to waste lives.

Let's get something straight: we are supposed to be the land of the free, right? Then why do we have to be so careful of what we say? Senators Obama an McCain were right in their choice of words: The loss of life in Iraq fighting President Bush's personal war has been nothing but a waste. What has it gotten us? What has it gained for the Iraqi people? And before you condemn me for being a coward, know this: I come from a family that has proudly served in the military; between my brothers and me, we have nearly fifty years of service. I don't consider any of that time serving our country wasted, but we didn't serve under an amoral idiot like Mr. Bush

It's a tragic truth when showmanship and posturing is forced on politicians. Maybe the truth should be said out loud, what they really meant to say is the these brave souls were murdered. By whom? Well by our babbaling Puppet of a President or course! And for what? For oil and money and power of course! Why is it that Clinton was impeached for trivial sex issues and yet lying to all the American people, The House and the Senate about a war, goes un-questioned? This is beyond belief, that in todays world the obvious goes completely ignored! It makes me sad, sick and angry, every day I watch the news and hear of more casualties dying for a war that was not only un-necessary, but a ploy for power, oil and control! Wake up, impeach Bush, and arrest him for murder! He's the one who will benefit from the oil profits, him and Cheney, we, the regular folks, just keep lining there pockets as we pay higher gas prices! Will the American people ever wake up and smell the truth!?

You are so absolutely right that neither one of them should have had to apologize. The one who should really apologize is Geroge Bush. Who knows what these young soldiers might have become or done with their lives had they not been so needlessly taken. The human and financial resources that we have poured into this war have indeed been wasted!

If a General sends troops into a battle that cannot possibly be won, then yes the troops lives are "wasted." Nor am I interested in "sacrificing" good people for a losing cause. I don't care about the words, I care about the results. Some American lives were "wasted" in some battles of WW2, but it was definitely NOT a losing cause, the world became a better place after that. I don't know if Iraq will come close to anything that WW2 was, it's possible that it was a symptom of a greater problem instead of the problem itself. I think many of the battles were poorly planned, and many soldiers were poorly equiped, so I don't have any problem with saying those soldiers lives were wasted. It's no disrespect to them, it's a disrespect to their inept commanders, Donald Rumsfeld, and the politicians who got us into Iraq in the first place.

Impeach Bush and fire Chaney for their lies that took us to war and caused so many men/women to lose their lives. This is so much worse than Watergate ever was. Shame on the Bush Administration. Shame on Americans everywhere for not stopping this war. If Congress cuts the funds, they WILL bring our troops home. Not even the Bush Admin. will be able to send more or keep troops there without funding. In Vietnam, our troops did KP and all other support jobs. In this war, we pay civilian services for all support jobs. This war is lining many pockets. Like most other crimes - follow the moneytrail. We all know one corp. that has made a killing- Haliburton, but I am sure there are more. This war has not been about freedom or terrorism or even about ridding a country of an evil dictator (did we bother with Idi Amin), it is about momey - big money. I don't want to see anyone Americans killed or horribly maimed so corporations can get rich. I support the warriors but not the war. I am sad, depressed, disgusted and yet hopefull. You can't fool all of the people all of the time (per the last best Republican- Lincoln).

Why does Everyone have to stop being and feeling human because of a man who was at fault in the first place for all this inhumanness of war. The person who choose for us to be there and most of all why we are still there, but George Bush. We are upset over words that people are saying instead of where a person has placed us with all this sadness. That is where our focus really needs to be, not on every inch of words an individual says and gets upset over it. What is really worth your energy words or lost of lives over war.

I agree that Obama shouldn't have to apologize, but republicans would have paint him as being anti-troops and some Americans would agree! With McCain it's different because he is a republican and fairly or unfairly democrats are seen as being against the troops.

Are politicians really allowed to be truthful?? People say over and over that they want them to be honest but what it comes right down to is they want them to be honest with the general view...coining the phrase "Political Correctness." They aren't allowed to agree with the President's tactics because not many believe in this war, so they disagree and gain higher public approval ratings. We can blame the media, we can blame the politicians but how about looking in our own backyards. People are quick to turn on the very person they themselves voted in to office. I voted for President Bush, do I agree with everything he's doing....No I can't say I do, BUT I will say that I will stand with him, because I first believed in him to do right by this country. We certainly believed in him after 9/11 as we watched our loved ones die needlessly. And yes the polls showed Americans agreed with our President's strategy to combat terrorism. If you believe in a democratic way of life and voting in our representatives, then you have to support whom you've elected into office. Don't waste your vote by not researching who your supporting with your vote. And stop complaining about who has been chosen... they aren't going away and it isn't going to unite this country. And maybe then....politicians will feel free to "be honest" with their views and maybe then they will take action. The Outside World Is Watching.... Lets live by what we are called U N I T E D S T A T E S!!! P.S. Lives are NEVER wasted but they are given...it's the choice these brave soldiers signed up for.

Of course they are sorry. What they want to say is, "Give me power - Bush is bad, I am good." Some politians will,(and have), said anything in order to gain power. They apologize for not being able to openly tell the populace that they want power and must disguise their ambition in messages of fear, distrust, and slander.

I think maybe "wasted" is a harsh word in this context. No American soldier is a waste at all. Their lives are precious to us all as fellow countryman that love their country enough to give all their is. The "waste" may be that the country our young men and women fight to help build, maybe does not appreciate the sacrifice given for them. Our soldiers have fought to bring about a peace that may never come, and that in itself is sad - that so many die and the results remain the same and all the president can do is send more men and women there to continue this. Where is the end of this tunnel?

I could not agree more with what Josh Mankiewicz wrote. And I haven't seen anybody else in the media say it. Whether you agree or disagree with the sentiment, there is nothing wrong with saying the Bush administration has wasted the lives of American soldiers in this war, if that's what you believe.

To all those that are indignant over the use of the word wasted just remember where it came from; it was the troops themselves in Vietnam who first used the term - along with others like 'greased' and 'scattered' (ie, 'he got greased' or 'his shit got scattered to the wind') - to describe what many came to see as the essentially pointless deaths of their fellow soldiers in that war.

Tom Englehardt has a moving essay that strongly reinforces and amplifies Josh Mankiewicz's point, on his TomDispatch blog at http://www.tomdispatch.com/index.mhtml?pid=171859.

What this country needs is someone who can say it like it is and not apologize for it.

After all, was it not Churchill who said "A politician needs the ability to foretell what is going to happen tomorrow, next week, next month, and next year. And to have the ability afterwards to explain why it didn't happen."

There was really no need to apologize.

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