Hello again. I read an opinion brief in today's paper of an outraged teen who voiced disgust at someone who earlier said the Iraq war was pointless and defended her father serving in Iraq.
I know many think supporting the war and supporting the troops are the same thing. Let me explain why some of us think they are not.
It is simply a matter of choices:
Politicans can begin and end a war with the flick of a pen. They dictate to the Generals and Admirals the objectives and strategies of the war with the enemy chosen by the politicians.
Soldiers, at the bottom of the hierarchy, sent to fight the war have no choice who their enemy is, where they fight, what their mission is, whether they have the supplies to complete the mission, which comrades are killed, and whether they come back in one piece or even alive.
In short, Supporting the War equates to supporting the politicians we elect and Supporting the Soldiers equates to supporting the actual fighters who obey orders handed to them.
The American Civil War soldiers coined a phrase that reached the heart of the sentiment they felt: It's a Rich man's War, Poor man's Fight. That is separating the war from the soldier.
Post later. Bye!
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