Probably a Vietnam vet, SF, maybe.
March 7, 2004
Must demand better
Servicemembers in Iraq and Afghanistan deserve our utmost respect for the sacrifices they’re making. On their behalf, our government must justify its military decisions honestly and prepare soldiers to the absolute highest standard. That, sadly, didn’t happen.
Pressuring intelligence agencies to exaggerate their findings of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and then blaming them for it; bashing the United Nations and then crawling back begging for peacekeeping assistance; and sending in insufficient troops unprepared for the war’s aftermath, without proper equipment and shielding, reveals inept, uncaring civilian leadership. One wonders if Gen. Custer could have done worse.
Requiring guardsmen and reservists to extend foreign tours as they abandon families, careers, and incomes belies the poor military planning. It is especially insulting to do this as President Bush proposes cuts to veterans’ health care benefits.
Since Vice President Dick Cheney was prepaid to get us into this mess, we should ask him what his plans are to get us out without bankrupting the U.S. and risking more soldiers. Outside of Kabul there is no peace, and the $40 million of walking-around taxpayers’ money that bribed warlords and tribal leaders is wasted. That unruly bunch has regrouped, rearmed, and is up to its ears in a bumper crop of opium.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld conquered Iraq with a military built up by former President Clinton, but Rumsfeld’s so-called reformed military is perilously untrained at peacekeeping. It doesn’t help that the U.S.-anointed head of the Iraqi governing council is a convicted embezzler and has no local support. While it’s true that the people of Iraq are safer without Saddam Hussein, America isn’t, especially economically. More than 2,400 U.S. employers reported laying off 50 or more workers in January, the third-highest number of mass layoffs since the government began tracking them.
Our soldiers and citizens deserve much better, but the White House would rather do flight suit photo ops than act responsibly. Squandering a budget surplus into a $500 billion deficit while lowering taxes for the rich during a war has to be a first for any nation. They favor Social Security and Medicare cuts to make up the difference. Prior to the 2000 election fiasco, a Bush campaign ad promised: “Governor Bush sets aside $2.4 trillion to strengthen Social Security and pay all benefits.” That $2.4 trillion is gone.
Presidential advisor Karl Rove and the Republican National Committee must really be afraid of Sen. John Kerry, since stories are being planted, even in Stars and Stripes, saying that Kerry isn’t a war hero and is undeserving of his Vietnam medals. Such slimy tactics were used to portray former Sen. Max Cleland, who lost two legs and an arm in Vietnam, as unpatriotic. Cleland is now an avid campaigner for Sen. Kerry.
Soldiers’ dependents, families, friends and veterans must demand better civilian leadership for our military and for the economic health of our country.
M. Dan Wooldridge
Würzburg, Germany
http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=125&article=20639&archive=true