Thanks to Powerline, I was pointed to Paul Greenberg: Sixty years ago at dawn.
Von Runstedt and his staff had taken everything into account except the sheer cussedness of the American resistance. The 7th Armored held onto the crossroads at St. Vith longer than anyone would have imagined possible. And at Bastogne, the key to the battle, the 101st Airborne refused to yield at all, and entered legend.
According to the German battle plan, Bastogne was to be overrun on the second day of the operation; it never was. General Anthony McAuliffe's one-word response to the German commander's surrender terms would become a classic summation of American defiance: "Nuts!" [emphasis mine]
So our brave men and women serving in the Armed Forces have yet another, purely American, example before them. We are a nation of the most stubborn cusses in the whole world. Generally, we prefer to live and let live, but when we decide to fight, brother, look out!
Powerline adds a little more to the General's statement:
The German call for the surrender of the surrounded American forces under General McAuliffe's command at Bastogne resulted in General McAuliffe's immortal, untranslatable response. "If you don't understand what 'Nuts!' means," Colonel Joseph Harper explained to his mystified German interlocutors, "in plain English it is the same as 'Go to hell.' And I will tell you something else; if you continue to attack, we will kill every goddamn German that tries to break into this city."
To the terrorists attempting to prevent the Iraqi people from holding elections and deciding their own destiny, the Armed Forces of the United States of America say, "Nuts! We will stand with this oppressed people and refuse to bow to your murderous agenda." And if the terrorists don't understand the idiom, all they'll need to do is take a look at the number of their comrades currently pushing up daisies.
Look at what we've done before, when the odds seemed to be against us. Our determination hasn't wavered, our men and women are no less brave and honorable, and the ideals of freedom and justice are still held dear to all of us. Go ahead. Make our day.
I salute the brave men and women serving in Iraq (and Afghanistan!), and wish them "Good hunting!" God bless you, keep you safe and grant you true victory.
