“I lost my son to a war I oppose.”

Andrew Bacevich, a professor of international relations at Boston University, writes about the recent loss of his son in Iraq:

What exactly is a father’s duty when his son is sent into harm’s way? Among the many ways to answer that question, mine was this one: As my son was doing his utmost to be a good soldier, I strove to be a good citizen. [...]

I hoped that [my anti-war] efforts might produce a political climate conducive to change. I genuinely believed that if the people spoke, our leaders in Washington would listen and respond. This, I can now see, was an illusion. [...]

I know that my son did his best to serve our country. Through my own opposition to a profoundly misguided war, I thought I was doing the same. In fact, while he was giving his all, I was doing nothing. In this way, I failed him.

Read his full op-ed.