I have seen and endured the sufferings of the troops, and I can no longer be a party to prolong these sufferings for ends which I believe to be evil and unjust.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
I've become very, very liberal as far as war is concerned. It's just too terrible. I've been to wars and I've seen what happens. I know what it is to be hurt, and it's nothing compared to these guys. To be blind for the rest of your life. To have prosthetic limbs.
As a veteran, I know firsthand the satisfaction there is in defending the democracy you so strongly believe in, but I can also attest to the trauma encountered from combat on the battlefield.
I don't believe in war as a solution to any kind of conflict, nor do I believe in heroism on the battlefield because I have never seen any.
I suffered evils, but without allowing them to rob me of the freedom to expand.
I oppose the spending of trillions in Iraq and Afghanistan, I strongly oppose Islamic extremism but don't believe that sending troops to die in two unwinnable wars makes sense.
What shall I say further? Shall I not stop short and leave to your imaginations to portray the tragic deeds of war? Is it not enough that I here leave it even to unexperience to fancy the hardships, the anxieties, the dangers, even of the best life of a soldier?
I don't think I have been loved by my troops, but I think I have been respected.
I am for peace, retrenchment and reform, the watchword of the great Liberal Party thirty years ago.
Yeah, I volunteered to support the troops, and get out there and show them that we care about them.
I am a soldier, convinced that I am acting on behalf of soldiers.