If Obama keeps his Arlington promise, we will not have to try to figure out how to tell the troops

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prior to the next illegal war (because there won't be one) that we support them by opposing any deceptive or iillegal action that puts them in harm's way.

"I am humbled to be the Commander-in-Chief of the finest fighting force in the history of the world. I know that there is nothing I will not do to keep our country safe, even as I face no harder decision than sending our men and women to war -- and no moment more difficult than writing a letter to the families of the fallen. And that's why as long as I am President, I will only send our troops into harm's way when it is absolutely necessary, and I will always provide them with the equipment and support they need to get the job done."


We all have family who have served the country in the military... in this generation or previous ones. This Memorial Day, like every Memorial Day during this war in Iraq, the unnecessary death and destruction, maiming of bodies and families is striking because it is a waste, a shame and a crime. It was perpetrated to serve the previous administration's misguided scheme of Executive Imperialism and American empire.

Although the Bush administration claimed no one knew that the information was "faulty," millions of people in the streets weren't buying the line and we knew whose fault the devastation of an unecessary and illegal war would be.

Out in the streets too, were the gung ho folks, with the flags and spirit to make war because someone said so.

After the way this has turned out, I've been wondering how to tell the troops: we support you by not wanting you to go unless it is necessary, is legal and will not squander your service, your life, your family.

As much as we were lied to, as much as some had it sniffed out and some were bound to serve, my concern at the time was this:

These folks, these troops, these families are either going to never understand how completely and cynically they were duped by the Bush administration or they WILL understand how completely they and their service were betrayed. And either way there would be a lot of emotional and psychological fallout for those who survived.

So when I see the stories in the news, watching shattered families trying to deal with night terrors and vacant stares, lost limbs and faces, it tears me up.

Please, President Obama, keep your promise to the nation and the members of military service and our national guard. We will all sleep better if you do.

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1. Although the Bush administration claimed no one knew that the information was "faulty,"