As someone who has a family member who has fought in Iraq....

[Fleshdancer]

I would like to make it very clear that I am sick and tired of listening to chicken hawks in Congress say that debating this war sends "the families of soldiers" the message that the troops are not supported somehow. As a family member of a soldier, the best way to support my brother is by not sending him back for his fourth deployment next Spring. I kinda like him not being shot at everyday. I'm a fan of him, you know, living and getting the chance to watch his children grow up. I'm funny that way. He's an incredible man and he has been my protector my whole life and a protector of America for over a decade so stop taking him for granted and stop abusing his talents. The military has already lost way too many good men and women over this.

If they truly cared about our troops or the family members of our troops, then the idea of starting needless wars and allowing war profiteering wouldn't be an issue. So for now on they should be forced to be honest about what it is that they care about and stop using me and my family as a weak way of justifying their cruelty.

End of rant. Thanks for letting me get that off my chest.

[Gruenemann]

1. Thanks for that!

Feel free to vent any time!

[CrazyOrangeCat]

2. Thank you.

K&R

[Mandate My Ass]

3. Best to you and your family

Thanks for posting this and I hope your son comes home for good soon.

Also, thank you for pointing out one of the most irritating talking points that's bandied about lately: that only pro-war people are concerned for the troops and can speak for their state of mind, which coincidentally, makes their stance appear legitimate and moral.

[Fleshdancer]

5. Thank you...

just to clarify though, he's my brother, not my son. If I had a son in this war I think I would go insane.

[Mandate My Ass]

8. Ooops

:blush:

My son is having spine surgery on Friday. I'm worried sick on one hand and wish it wasn't necessary, but I can't help thinking "thank goodness he's not draft material anymore."

Bushco and his warmonger/profiteer buddies are soulless, heartless ghouls co-opting the sacrifices of people like your brother. A fourth tour in that place is unconscionable.

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

4. Judging from the amount of open discussion now, and even dissent from Republicans re: surge,

I think congress is starting to get your message.

Or at least sees which way the typhoon is blowing, which, in Washington, is about the same thing.

[ChiciB1]

6. See.... My Problem With This Thing Is BECAUSE Far Too Many

of those soldiers who are fighting the war simply "toe the line" BECAUSE that's how it is when you're in the military!!! I hear people on C-Span ALL THE TIME saying they fought for their country, blah, blah, blah and how disgusting the Dems are blah, blah, blah.... BECAUSE they ARE military!!

As one who was raised as an Army brat, it was the MAIN reason I NEVER wanted to marry into a military family! Not only did my father take ORDERS... so did we!! It comes as a package deal, and if you don't agree, then you can "take a hike!" I was always very very upset with that type of mentality!

However, I do understand that they need rules and regulations, but free-thinking isn't all that pervasive! If only we could get more soldiers to come out and speak up we would be able to make much more progress! They may not AGREE with what is going on, but unless you want to lose your job, for the most part you better keep your trap shut!

Thanks for your post though!

[dogday]

7. My best thoughts and wishes go out to you and your family

My Son came home after one year in Iraq and now I worry about will he have to go back? The worrying never stops... If you need a shoulder or an ear to bend, pm me... :hi:

[w8liftinglady]

9. I was happy to see three soldiers(granted reservists) not supportive of the SOTU

and yes,as a mom who has sent her boy to Iraq three times,I know the horror of watching the news several times a day,listening for the death toll,holding your breath,being ashamed that you are glad it was someone else.
I hate these chickenhawk neocons,too.

[acmejack]

10. That deserves a fifth!

A not necessarily just a recommendation, either. As an old veteran I can tell you that those are the words of support the troops want to hear, not "Bring them on", not "Stay the course", and certainly not "We'll dishonor the memories of the fallen by leaving before the job is done", I've heard that one before & I remember where it got us. I used to be among the youngsters sitting in the VA waiting room and you have no idea how much it hurts to see these new generations of wounded coming in there now. It well and truly sucks.

Gloria has it exactly right, let us all support the troops!

[tabasco]

11. If "caring"means sending me to die in an endless war for corporate profits...

I don't need that type of "care" or "support."

[treestar]

12. To put in a word for my family member

My cousin, the closest I have in Iraq - he's fine with it all. He's "doing what he loves." So it's not problem for him, in fact, if this is the career he loves, cutting off the war is what would be a failure to "support" him. It's no sacrifice to him - he's not in harm's way, they are.

A cousin of another relative (not my cousin, but theirs) also went over there to kill brown people and maybe got to kill some of those horrible Muslims who want to kill us all (they must, since 19 of them once did) before he got killed himself.

Just wanted to get in there that not all the troops are saintly. We've been making a sacred cow out of them, and letting the freepers do that for the past four years has got us where we are today. They use "the troops" and we use "the troops" in a responsive and defensive way. But their interests are as varied as those of the individuals in any large group.

It's wrong for the US to be over there, period. It's not just the troops who are in the wrong (or somehow victimized - we talk about them as if they aren't armed themselves and don't kill far more Iraqis than Iraqis kill them) - it is all of us.

Somehow we have to frame the debate in terms of the wrongness of the war - we've spent enough time letting the right wing take a moral high ground that any war they can think of has to be supported just because there are individuals who have to (or in this case, volunteer to) fight it. It's just the flip side to say the war has to stop just because of these individuals being in danger (though simultaneously a danger to others). A necessary war, if such exists, could not end just because of that either.

The war has to stop because it is wrong, period.