Elected Officials

In the last few weeks, I have been attending political "candidate" forums. It is pretty sad, really. The war in Iraq is like the 9,000 ton elephant in the room: ever present - but no one wants to talk about it.

Last night, the incumbent representative from our Congressional district sent a young aide to read her position on issues. Until I asked the incumbant's position on Iraq, the subject was not raised. Of course, I already knew what it was - "Stay the course" and ignore...ignore...ignore.

Sadly, this is in an effort to get elected, actually standing up and taking a position reflective of the voters wishes is rather foreign to both parties. It is all about "winning" as brave young men and women are killed, horribly maimed or left with deep psychological scars that will last a lifetime.

Dirty political tricks are the soup de jour in American politics if someone dares to challenge the party politics and ask why or dares to challenge the status quo. A primary example of that can be found in the political calculation undertaken in the IL 8th district. An anti-war candidate mounted a petition drive to get on the ballot for the fall election. The Republican challenger, welcomed the candidate to the ballot because his political calculus tells him it may help him win this party financed seat. The Democratic incumbant and her party was not nearly so welcoming and possible political dirty tricks in the fine tradition of Chicagoland machine politics and the courts may decide if this grassroots campaign takes flight.

In the mean time, largely unnoticed and seemingly unimportant (except when campaigning), young men and women in Iraq and Afghanistan struggle on under nearly impossible conditions, suffer horrible wounds and are honored under the cover of darkness as they are shipped home in a body bag to shattered families.

Support the troops...as long as we win!

Mom---You gotta help me out!

In our most recent communications, finances were the topic of concern. It seems that my son learned of the recent, severe data breach that occurred in the VA system that placed sensitive personal information for some 26.5 veterans, family members and active duty soldiers at risk.

Of course, we had been aware of it by virtue of the news sources in the US. My husband is a vet who is involved...and my son's information was identified at risk. The soldiers serving in many places are not up on US news for obvious reasons. My son has been remotely located in Afghanistan for months - communication is sketchy at best and often strained because phone calls home are monitored on a 5 second delay using DOD equipment for operational security reasons.

On this issue, however, I was ahead of the game. I had already notified his bank to monitor transactions - specifically withdrawals since there would be few of them. An infantry soldier has little contact with the ATM while doing his job.

It is pretty sad to think that with all of the stresses placed on our service people in dangerous spots in the world, they must be concerned with being ripped off through identity theft because agents of our government lose their personal identification due to incompetence.

On Haditha

President Bush has described the incident in Haditha as "troubling". I beg to differ. As the Commander-in-Chief, Mr. Bush ought to have portrayed a realistic view of what war is really about to the American public before he ordered young men and women into harms way. That was his job.

Haditha is now being described in the press the My Lai of Iraq. Once again, as was the case 30 years before, American citizens do not understand how valiant young Americans can act so brutally.

Consider the following, taken from the publication NRO and written by W. Thomas Smith, Jr. an experienced Marine:

Let’s consider a frequent and typical attack on a Marine or Army patrol as an example: When a Humvee is hit by a mine or an IED, the result is nothing like what one might see in a movie. It’s not simply a blast and people are dead. No chest-clutching John Wayne departures with inspirational music. There is no glory. No adventure. It’s just the worst sort of human drama imaginable.

The vehicle, if close enough to the blast, flips into the air, snapping necks and spinal cords. Heads and limbs are torn from bodies. Gasoline ignites and ammunition cooks off, burning any survivors to a crisp.

Those soldiers and Marines (many of whom are still teenagers) who witness the action are instantly shocked, physically sickened, grief-stricken, and enraged over the horror of having watched buddies—who have become closer than any sibling might ever hope to be—torn to pieces. Badly wounded buddies are screaming in agony. Yet the ones uninjured or with minor injuries have to respond as trained. They are dismounting from vehicles, simultaneously removing safeties from weapons and racing for cover or assaulting in the direction of the ambush where seen or unseen forces are shooting at them. The counterattack often requires the instant establishment of a base of fire by one group while an enveloping force prepares to overwhelm the enemy. Blood-pressure is peaking. Adrenaline is pumping.

Surviving officers and NCOs (most of whom are in their twenties) are even busier. They are reporting their position, calling for supporting fires (if needed) and medical assistance. They also are shouting commands, directing troops, and generally trying to maintain order in the midst of chaos, and attempting to simplify what has in an instant become extraordinarily complex.

(full article can be found here)

Faced with the horror of seeing their buddy, a young Marine, dead, with half of his face blown off (as described by his best friend who was ordered to "clean up" after the incident), it is not hard to imagine that grief, mixed with healthy doses of fear...and anger could quickly turn to rage. Many of our Soldiers and Marines have served multiple deployments into these conditions and some are returning before the trauma of previous deployment has been effectively diagnosed or treated - if such treatment is possible.

As the author points out, many of these Marines were young men, many with no other life experience beyond high school than the Military. And no matter how it is marketed, the mission of the Infantry in both the Marines and the Army is to destroy the enemy before they destroy you. Bringing "freedom and democracy" is a political objective - not a military objective. In Iraq and Afghanistan, unlike the wars against Japan and Germany, the enemy does not wear a uniform that distinguishes them from civilians.

Was murder committed against innocent civilians in Haditha - almost certainly so. Who is legally responsible? That is a matter for the courts and our system of justice. Who is morally responsible? That question is more easily answered: We all are.

As these issues go forward in the press and remain in the public eye, I think it is important that a full examination of the incident is undertaken by voters. Americans tend to scapegoat incidents that make us "look bad" and "feel uncomfortable" when our beliefs are challenged.

Neither the press or the government do the American public any favors by portraying war as a valiant and noble cause. It is not. War has real casualties - on both sides. There is no background music save the agonizing screams of survivors and the tears of families and friends of those who perish. The flags on Main Street are half a world away and the yellow "Support the Troops" magnets are not in evidence on the blown apart Humvee. There is no bugle blowing Taps on the battlefield as our soldiers die. Often their final companion is a terrified and shocked teenaged warrior that tries to provide comfort and hope as he watches the life drain from the eyes of his buddy. He may have never seen death before...and certainly not one so violent. And then he must get up and "do his job."

Could you?

Could the President? After all, he set the tone: "Bring em on!"

Listen to the Diane Rehm (WMAU.org) interview regarding the investigation here

Hmmm.....

We have many official "government watchers" also called spys in this country. There is the NSA, CIA, Military Intelligence, etc, etc, etc.

Stories swirl all over the media regarding spying on US citizens in their own homes by using phone company records, trapping internet communications, et al. My hubby and I always end our phone conversations by wishing our invisible spy, Joe, a pleasant day (evening, night - you get the picture.) I often laugh saying that an ice cream truck with a really tall antenna can often be seen in places I frequent - keeping tabs on me. Why the paranoia? Simply put, I have a really big mouth and plenty opinions on how to operate in a democracy in time of war.

Readers to this blog can't help but determine that I am against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Shoot, I post pictures and give the rant from my perspective frequently. I have literally dozens of copies of letters that I have sent elected representatives expressing my views and I always send them with proper contact information. When I don't get an answer, I am frequently known to resend the letter. My first letter campaign was about outdated body armor that was issued to protect our soldiers in battle. I was given polite platitudes from most reps who responded...making me even more angry.

You see, each and every American is $30,000+ in debt, in large part because of the defense budget and the "emergency supplemental" bills that have paid for our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. As an accountant, I am trained to assess the effectiveness of budgetary expenditures. I think that most of our money is poorly spent. And like every other taxpayer in this country, I contribute to the very large pot that supports the wars...how the US represents itself in the world, how we trade off the often promised "peace dividend" to wage more wars, etc. And it makes me both angry and concerned.

As a Mom, I have a kid in harms way. You bet your sweet butt that I wish to see him protected. It isn't good enough to have a Senator write back "we are trying" to get proper gear to the soldiers we sent to face bullets and bombs. I DON'T AGREE WITH PRE-EMPTIVE WAR...as a matter of fact, I think that ALL WAR is inherently evil. I respect my kid's choice to give something of himself for his country - but I wish it would have been with the Peace Corps as opposed to the Military. That is an opinion..and was not a demand to him. Unlike so many politicians, we were able to disagree - agreeably. We are able to respect our differences...and celebrate the fact that we both work to change our country and the world for the better in our own ways.

Why the rant...that started out with spying and ended up with an airing of family matters? Simply put, this blog had a visitor today - from Pentagon.mil. I think their time would be better spent doing their job - ensuring that the troops are properly supplied, educated and cared for than wasting their time looking at the blog of an Army Mom who disagrees with the current political leanings of this country and sets about in legal ways to sway public opinion and bring about change.

Should you visit again...and choose not to read this entire (and very long post) - I will condense it for you:

BRING OUR TROOPS HOME NOW. TAKE CARE OF THEM WHEN THEY GET HERE. NEVER SENT THEM INTO HARM'S WAY AGAIN BASED UPON THE POORLY FRAMED INTELLIGENCE AND/OR LIES THAT HAVE COST THE LIVES OF SO MANY GOOD AND HEROIC CITIZENS...HERE AND IN IRAQ.