Tracey- I'm off to an army school for a few months and don't have an active address for anyone over there to send books to. My recommendation is to do the Operation Paperback thing- they'll be put to good use.
As for the forum, I had made a point of staying away, but was actually having some fun in there. It saddens me to see a complete lack of give-and-take; BradyLady and luso are convinced they are right and absolutely unwilling to concede that any of their talking points may be flawed, inaccurate or whatnot. I tried to explain that their premise that Georgia "started" the whole crisis was flawed, so instead of acknowledging my salient points based on personal experience as an army tank officer, they ignored those points and went ad hominem. Unfortunately, that's just the way some folks are when it comes to politics. I don't have all the answers, but I know what I know, and letting Georgia twist in the wind tells every other country in the world that we won't have their back despite the endless platitudes we spout about freedom and democracy. To me, that's worth defending. Especially when you consider the size of that oil pipeline moving through Georgia to the Caspian Sea. Do we really want the Russians taking control of that sizeable source of crude? It just puts us more in a tough spot internationally.
OK- off on a tangent, but you're definitely one of the good ones. I really appreciate all you did for me over there.
Kirk
