Solomon Ortiz Quotes
It matters not what your individual position is on either war we are currently prosecuting - in Iraq or Afghanistan - certainly we can all agree protesting at military funerals is a cruel and unnecessary hardship on our military families during their most difficult hour.
Ortiz, Solomon P. "Respect for America's Fallen Heroes Act." Congressional Record, vol. 152, no. 55, 9 May 2006, p. H2282.
The Congress had applauded his message vigorously.
There is a corollary to this proverb, that frequently reflects itself in Arab culture. It is that one who is not strong must never concede. To concede out of strength is manly and noble. To concede out of weakness is cowardly and base. Middle Eastern International politics is totally irrational to Westerners when a badly defeated country of group will often not even meet with the victors to discuss peace or terms of surrender. It is the victors only who can make concessions without losing dignity and respect.
This statement is perhaps the greatest and most eloquent description of the United States exceptionalism and its behavior in WWII. Such a statement could only come from a non-American.
Explaining why our troops should not be withdrawn from Iraq.
Trumbo was morally opposed to war. He also refused to name Hollywood communists to Congressional Committees during the Red Scare. He was then blacklisted from his occupation, screen writing.
Patton, one of the world’s best fighting general was somewhat mentally unbalanced and unlike almost all senior officers who are successful commanders but see war as an unpleasant, brutal necessity, Patton loved war and the fighting part of it. His non battlefield behavior was so erratic and atrocious that Eisenhower and his other superiors almost fired him on several occasions. He died in an automobile crash shortly after the German surrender, so the dilemma of what to do with Patton in peacetime was resolved.
Eisenhower was then the Supreme Allied Commander of the Allied Forces.
A few American soldiers working as prison guards and interrogators at the Abu Ghraib military prison in Iraq, with poor supervision and mixed signals from the generals and other officers, engaged in a variety of sordid, illegal abuse of Arab. Prisoners ranging from harassment to torture and murder. One activity involved putting a dog leash around the necks of Muslim naked prisoners who were forced to crawl around like a pet dog—hence the reference to a “leash”.
Opponents claimed that it would be dishonorable to negotiate with terrorist states and to pay ransom at any time. This tension between principle and empathy with American prisoners first emerged in the Barbary Wars, but has been with America ever since. Our policy position of honor vis a vis terrorists has been the same since then. We do not negotiate. However, exceptions have been made many times in American history, as it was here thanks to military leaders like Barron. This was the origin of the military tradition of never leaving Americans behind in when they have been captured in conflicts that was so contentious such as the Afghanistan and Iraq Wars.
Solomon Porfirio Ortiz is the former U.S. representative for Texas's 27th congressional district, based in Corpus Christi, serving from 1983 until 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party. In 2010, Ortiz was defeated by Republican challenger Blake Farenthold. Ortiz's son, Solomon Ortiz, Jr., is a former state representative.
