You certainly can support the troops and not the war
I get so tired of hearing Righties say you can't support the troops if you don't support the war .. here is a man who knows ...
Stephen E. Wright, editor of the San Jose Mercury News, describes sending his 18-year-old son off to Iraq this month .. to a war he does not believe in.
"Seeing my son leave home to fight the wrong war
FEW POLITICIANS MAKE THIS PERSONAL SACRIFICE
By Stephen E. Wright .. Article Launched: 03/21/2007 01:41:30 AM PDT
Earlier this month, my wife and I stood just outside the security line at Oakland International Airport and said a teary-eyed goodbye to our son as he headed off to war. He is part of the latest "surge" in a war that a majority of Americans think we shouldn't be in.
Pvt. Wright is not yet 19, and a central theme in the national debate - Support the troops, but not the war - just got personal.
Our son had many choices after high school. Joining the Army was not a last-ditch effort to straighten out his life or earn money for college. Instead, he was answering a call he had felt deeply for some time - to be a soldier, to protect America and democracy from terrorism. He was prepared to fight - and die - for our freedom.
But now our newly minted U.S. Army cavalry scout is in Kuwait awaiting deployment into Iraq any day now. As a scout, he'll be responsible for reconnaissance and will go into situations before most other soldiers. The scout's motto is: Never pull out.
That's not the way I feel about our military presence in Iraq. After four years of maintaining a troop strength of 100,000-plus soldiers, after the deaths of 3,200, the wounding of 23,000 and the spending of billions of dollars, it is clear: The best way to support our troops is for Americans to put more pressure on Congress and the president to devise a timeline for phased withdrawal.
If more Americans - including the president and those in Congress - had to make the personal sacrifice of sending a son or daughter to this war, some for a second or third time, or if they had to pay the ultimate sacrifice of losing a child in this war, we'd be long past the "support our troops" slogan. We'd be pulling out and concentrating on the real war - the war against terrorism. [..]
http://www.mercurynews.com/opinion/ci_5485138?nclick_check=1
