SO glad I didn’t make the short list!

On topic: these vets deserve us fighting for them, they did it for us (no matter how misguided the war).

needed because the “fringe groups” Nader, Greens, Kucinich et al, their “outsourced vote” was enough to tip

the balance both times and now we are stuck with this Iraq mess and a mess at home too.

You “fringe” supporters had best buck up and decide if you want a Republican or a BONAFIDE “SUREFIRE”

WINNER IN A DEMOCRAT next time in 2008.

“En Masse Unity” is what will be required in 2008 to bring this whole house of cards down forever.

In other words, stop “stealing” the election FOR THEM!

Vote Democrat

You are so right. There is absolutely no sacrifice by any civilians. And there is much profiteering by the very wealthy. And with an all time record for soldiers having to live off food stamps when they return home after they were told the military would improve their lives who wouldn’t lose it. Not to mention all the brain trauma from roadside bombing.
But lets just slab a yellow ribbon on our bumpers and accuse somebody else of not supporting our troops and that way we don’t have to get our hands dirty. Just our souls.

Trueblue, many of these people are seeing military doctors who seem to have a vested interested in NOT diagnosing the patient with anything that might impede the Pentagon’s ability to send them back to Iraq. I am sure it is underreported.

Comment by Erroll — March 12, 2007 @ 8:43 pm

Its probably like unemployment, once you stop receiving benefits they no longer count you. Your still out of work but your off the list. So if the government says you don’t qualify for therapy you’re not one of their statistics.

I certainly concur with your criticism of war and those who promote it vs. those who end up fighting in those wars. I would like to, if I may, recommend two books on this subject that you might find, perhaps, to be of interest. One is entitled Minds at War- Poetry and Experience of the First World War, which presents over 200 poems by 80 poets, which dealt with their experiences from The Great War. It also presents perspectives from that era, from such people as Thomas Hardy, Bertrand Russell, Rupert Brooke, Robert Graves, H.G. Welles, George Bernard Shaw, Winston Churchill, Wilfred Owen, Siegfried Sassoon, et al. As of today, many well known people back then felt it their duty to support the government and to, in their view, be as patriotic as possible. Others, such as Shaw, felt differently about being swept up, like today, in such patriotic fervor. This anthology was difficult to obtain and I had to order it through Powells online but the results were worthwhile.

The second book is entitled A Tale of Two Quagmires- Iraq, Vietnam, and the Hard Lessons of War by Kenneth J. Campbell, who teaches Political Science at the University of Delaware. Not only does Prof. Campbell compare Vietnam to the present debacle in Iraq, he offers a unique perspective to his book. He had spent, unlike the neoconservatives, thirteen months in Vietnam as a Marine. After returning to this country, he became disillusioned with the war and with the way his government had lied to him and his fellow citizens concerning the reasons why that war had been unnecessarily fought and waged. A book that is a must read for all Americans, regardless of their political persuasion.

…much more preferrable to Scumborough…

On Topic: I believe that the fact that national guard and reservists are being called up and sent into the middle of a civil war in Iraq without proper preparation while having their lives disrupted (they are mostly not career soldiers) and then being “extended” and sent back for 2nd tours, is extremely stressful and conducive to PTSD. Also contributing to PTSD and other mental disorders are the ill defined and unrealistic goals of the struggle (believe me, being told that you are seeing your buddies die because you are trying to prevent the establishment of a caliphate just doesn’t fly, nor do they see much of a connection between the attack at the WTC by AlQuada fanatics and their plight in Faluja or Sadr City.) NO doubt, there is also rage upon returning and seeing that besides the inane “support the troop” bumper stickers, there is little real noticeable sacrifice evident among the sunshine patriots back home. Of course, receiving poor health care at military facilities and underfunded VA hospitals and clinics also contributes to stress and frustration.
The wounds of this mad enterprise will be long with us. Shame Shame Shame and death to those who started it.

Frankly, Bush and his administration is already abusing the troops, so cutting the funds, Bush will just abuse them further and blame the Democrats. Faux Snewz will blame the Democrats. The War will continue untill Bush is equipping them with slingshots.

The only way to end the war is to impeach the president and vice president. IMHO

…once and for all!