Eight years and counting. Twice as long as World War II, approaching the length of the Viet Nam War. No end in sight. No clear mission in sight. No end to the suffering of the soldiers and their families.
Our soldiers have done their duty. It is our civilian leaders who need to act like civilians and stop this endless war.
On this day when we honor our Veterans, what better honor could we bestow upon them than exercising sound judgment to preserve their lives?
Do we ask who is supplying the weapons and bullets being fired at our soldiers? Why don't we ask? Are we afraid we might discover that it is our own defense industry who has sold arms around the world that are now being used to kill our soldiers?
Do we ask how much this endless war is costing our nation in lives lost and borrowed dollars spent? Why not?
Do we discuss making the War "budget neutral" by paying for it with a War Tax (in the same way that we demand that health care reform legislation be "paid for")? Why not?
Why is there no concern that we are increasing the deficit with every bullet that is fired, every MRE that a soldier eats, every no bid contract that Halliburton receives? Why is stopping those discussions always "off the table?"
Why are we trying to build other nations while ours is in crisis and in need of repair?
Do we stop the Stop Loss program and the endless tours of duty that are destroying our troops and their families? Why not?
Do we consider the impacts of the mental illnesses being inflicted on our soldiers? Are we prepared for more Post Traumatic Stress Disorder incidents at home and abroad? Certainly, we don't expect these tragedies to decrease, do we?
When will we adequately fund the mental health needs of our Veterans when they return? We haven't yet. When will we begin to do so?
Why don't we provide health care benefits for all of our Veterans through the VA and not just those Veterans who have a service-related injury? Surely we owe them more.
It's long past time to honor our Veterans and our soldiers by ending these 2 wars and bringing our troops home where they belong. We can honor our active duty soldiers and Veterans through sensible policies and by finally giving them sufficient benefits. They have more than earned them.
After 8 years, it should be clear that we remain stranded in uncharted waters. Let's hope we can find our moral compass soon.....
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