I cannot help but think of the three children of mine who are old enough to be soldiers when I see the faces of those who have been killed in Iraq.  They look so young -barely shaving; so hopeful, so eager to do a job they were told is noble.

I think of the soldiers as victims of the lies of this administration in its single-minded march to war.  They are doing the job they are told to do.  Most of them are young, scared, brainwashed into military groupthink.  Many of them are away from home for the first time.  Many are poor and joined for financial reasons.  Many are looking for a place to belong.

They are victims.  They are the perpetrators of unimaginable atrocities commited in the blink of an eye, or worse, calculated and with a hateful heart.  They are kids.  They are fully grown men and women.  They are all those things to me - so yeah, I am comflicted.  

Do I support the troops?  I have no answer.

"Don't waste your time on the clowns, watch the real show"

I know that the time spent in service is a really important part of a vet's life. I think the reason for that is the brotherhood, shared sacrifice and community spirit that the experience gives to those who survive it intact.  It must be a hard search for them to find the good that they are doing now.  How can they possibly believe that what they do adds to my freedom?

So I refuse to prevaricate about people who think that violence upon others will be a service to their country.  I don't support them, I pity them for believing in the myths created to make them serve to profit george, Dick, and Rumsfeld's military-industrial cabal.

I am afraid it is just like that IP, but you and I know the difference on things.  To that I have to say, 98-99% of those in a war zone are honest and trustworthy group of ppl.  They are of all ages now, since we have the reserve and guard involved the way they are. Like this is anything new?

Yes they are kids for the most part, SN. That is how the military like it, young and vulnerable>  They can change them into the killing machine that they need for such a thing as the infantry or the 101st or 82nd or such as this. Usually the recruits are young and not opinionated, as of yet, like most of us older ppl are.  They do not understand (the risks and the obligations) for what they they are signing up for.  If they do, they are for the wiser for this, especially under this CIC and how things are carried out.  I can tell you most are not interested, as of yet, about the things y ou and I are concerned about.  Been there done that one.  All I could figure out was that I had a goal to achieve and I would go above and beyond to get it done.

After 9/11 most joined or rejoined for the purpose of being patriotic.  Yes we were attacked.  But they did not sign up for Iraq.  Ask why Pat Tillman joined up with his brother.  That is just the way it is.  Why do they join up with the insurgency, cause they are fighting for their country, or so they say.  who really knows.

Why is it that the Halliburton Co and their subsidiaries, there in the first place. Why is this still called a WAR instead of an OCCUPATION.  

Hell, if we are to judge others and their motives for things and they whys of their motives, we all could be nuts in a few seconds.

Sortta of like what left vet said once, we serve for those who won't, for what ever reason.  Now I am talking voluntary not draft here.

I am like you, I am so glad my son didn't voluntarily rejoin up, in all of this haste.  Look at what he would caught up in!  

But, if my son was in the military and/or if I were in, doing the job we said we would do, would you think enough of me and my son to support us in this conscript.  I am not asking y ou to support the policies of the president or this administration...no no no...just support us, for what we are doing to save your sons from having to do the job.  That is my opinion on all of this.  My son did serve during a war time.  When Clinton sent us to the Balkans.  I was a nervous wreck all the time.  But my life and his had to go on.  That is just the way it is.  I was hoping that the decision makers did the right job at all of their jobs that things would work out just fine.  We do not have the right leadership in the military, right now.  I have said this forever, since rummy tore us apart and that those who were groomed for this very thing came into office or position.  The likes of Franks, Boykin, Miller, Pace, Myers, Sanchez..on and on.  That is just the military ppl in place not civilian ppl. This war like all others are being run from cheney/rummy's office and we all know it. Both have their YES men/women in place for this whole facade.

Now I do not have to write this diary after all...:o) and no offence to anyone here.  I do not support the policies of this administration one bit.  I do support my troops, however.  They are yours and mine.  They work for us.

Maybe I have not addressed the correctness of what you all wanted me to say, but these are my feelings on this.  So until one walks in another's shoes, please do not call them out on it.

Now on the other 1-2% that are making things horrible for all the rest of them, over there.  That is yet another topic to be discussed.

I suppose I had better drop it now after making many sick to death of my words and feelings.  I love my vet brothers and sisters to death.  If you have any questions on this I suggest you ask those of which I have help in the past several years or so.  I may not agree with what some may say, but I will defend their right to say it up and to the point of not speaking hate, like some I know.

Statement by Bobby Muller, Director of Veterans for America, Regarding Amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act of 2007, S. 2766

This is the time to make those yellow ribbon bumper stickers mean something by taking action to support our troops and our veterans. Every Senator and every American has the chance to put substance behind the words, 'we support our troops' by supporting key amendments to this bill.

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Veterans for America Supports Pro-Veteran Amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act of 2007, S. 2766

The U.S. Senate will vote this week on amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act of 2007. Veterans for America supports amendments to the bill designed to assist service members and veterans. While VFA hopes Senators will approve all veteran-friendly amendments, there are three amendments that respond to acute needs of recent Iraq and Afghanistan war service members and veterans that we strongly urge all Senators to support.

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Action Alert: Tell Your Senators to Support the Troops today

Our military and our veterans need your help today to fix some very serious problems.

Veterans for America (VFA) recently posted several disturbing news articles about veterans committing suicide and other serious mental health problems among soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. Clearly, VA and the military are failing to respond to this growing crisis.

A phone call or faxed letter from you today sent to your U.S. Senator can help soldiers and veterans now, before the situation gets worse.

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Iraq War May Add Stress for Past Vets

More than 30 years after their war ended, thousands of Vietnam veterans are seeking help for post-traumatic stress disorder, and experts say one reason appears to be harrowing images of combat in Iraq.
PTSD is better understood than it once was, said Paul Sullivan, director of programs for the group Veterans for America. "The veterans are more willing to accept a diagnosis of PTSD," he said, "and the VA is more willing to make it."

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Iraq Body Count Press Release 13

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GI SPECIAL 4F18 'MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN'.pdf

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"Never again shall one generation of veterans abandon another."

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THE ABOVE AND MUCH MUCH MORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

and I support Lt. Watada. He's not going AWOL or deciding he's C.O. ... he's calling it for what it is - an illegal occupation and RESISTING.

He and the Veterans for Peace is how I support the troops. I support them. I support bringing their asses home alive.

I support them when they try to speak up and out against this slaughter.

Remember... it's Bush Regime who should be attacked. He is the one who has turned some in the military into Crusaders and Haters of women in pink...

I support the troops because it will be them who puts an end to this fucked occupation. They are going to come back in bad shape and hurting and it will be US not Bush who will help them.  That's SUPPORT.


When the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will know peace. - Jimi Hendrix

But here's where I have a big problem. Thousands of innocent Iraqis are being killed. Some are being murdered. The ones in Haditha were killed by murderers. That's how I feel. The war is illegal. Why aren't more military refusing to carry out orders that are clearly illegal? It's so hard to seperate the warrior from an illegal war. I want to, but it's hard. Each of them are human beings with a responsibility to treat fellow human beings with care. The same way we are expected to, by law. And I can't abide by the opinion that unless I've walked in their shoes, I have no right to critisize. Speaking out against atrocities doesn't mean my heart doesn't hurt for those who are caught up in this mess. It means holding them to the same standards of human decency that I'm held to.

Nice to see you again Sir.
I wish it were under different circumstances.

Peace

"green grass and high tides forever"

(photo taken by me when I had the honor to meet him)

Lt. Watada - http://www.thankyoult.org/

When the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will know peace. - Jimi Hendrix

  You see, when I saw the news today, and I knew from following the events for the past days, that it would come to the deaths of these people.

  It took me back to a time that I battle with more than I care. I feel the pain, the sorrow, the remorse that these young men were thrust into. I have seen the look before on many eyes. Some I knew, some I never wanted to know.

  You form a shell around you, that you hope will protect you, but it does'nt. It only encases what you try so hard to keep out. It entrenches anger, that burns a hole into your heart, and your soul. It leaves a hollow ache that echos so deep you think it will never stop resounding.

  Today, those echos sounded so loud, that they left the hollow space, and poured out onto the land, like a tidal wave.  I turned to the water, and held out my arms, to carry me along with the torent.

  I found myself setting by the edge of the ocean, remembering, wondering, and mostly questioning.....why?

  Somewhere between the songs of "Four Dead in Ohio", "Signs", "Where Have all the Flowers Gone", "War", and some old Dylan tunes, I felt a presence.

  As I pulled my concentration from the water, and back to the beach, there were some people gathered. 3 Viet Vets, 2 Desert Storm, and 2 Iragi Vets, and it seems as though we were all brought to the water, from the same flood, today's news.

  We shared some drink, some had beer, some had wine, some had coffee, but we shared, and more than just the drink, and the music, we shared a common soul.

  Those souls left the beach with the same resounding echo.......why?

  We can all tell ourselves it's for the good, but none of us there have found the good, we only found the echo.....

  I support all troops, from whatever country, whatever flag, and whatever purpose, for we all share one common thing.....

  I thank each and every one of you for your honesty, and sincere comments. In one way or another, you are truly showing you support, knowingly or not.

  As for me, well, I salute them....the ones who went, and the ones who stood fast, and refused...bless each and every one.

peace....it's not a secret, just dumbed down

"what a wonderful world"- Louis Armstrong

The way you support them is you respect their training, their competence, and their expertise. You don't tell them to "clear the city" and expect them to act like traffic cops. You don't send them on infinite peace-keeping missions.

And when the President/Secretary orders that people be tortured, cities be cleared, and people be executed you prosecute the people who gave the orders more aggressively than the people who followed them.

I grew up in a household where the word "military" was a four letter word.  In an ideal world, so I was taught to fight for, we would not need weapons and warriors.

My brother joined the Air Force (after Viet Nam) and my father and I were so sad.  As he worked his way up, it was really weird for my Dad and I to be interrogated by uniformed men as to the character of my brother when he needed higher security clearances.  We were good, but appalled.  In the end it helped him and he doesn't regret it (despite the loss of a foot), and I learned to separate the soldier from the complex.

I don't support the military-industrial complex, but I will be damned if we don't fulfill our obligations to those individuals who choose (or not) to "serve" our country.  There is simply no excuse for lack of equipment, medical benefits, or decent pay.  I am disgusted by our empty promises to gullible and/or desperate youth.  

There's a sense that people in America aren't getting the truth. - George W. Bush (Gee, ya think?)

So, IP, that's the answer I would give: do everything within your power to hold our leaders accountable. Work in a Congressional or Senate campaign this cycle to elect politicians who will end this insanity. Call, write, email anyone and everyone to make your voice heard. Do it for the soldiers. They need you.

I do what I can from where I am. For the first two years of the war, I helped with a back up group for the families of soldiers that we set up in the small town where I lived, providing 24/7 support.= for each other.  This small group of young women lost two husbands/fathers during that time, and one aad came home permanently out of commission due to a head injury. I do much peace activism from behind this computer screen. I send out many summaries of current war news to a wide circle of younger busy people who don't have time to stay informed and would not otherwise know whats really going on.

And I spend time with Ray. He just came here to live in this senior apartment building. He is a WWII vet without the legs he left on a bettle field long ago. No one talks to him , because he is "messy" and leaves cigarette butts on the pristine ground, and when he spills his coffee on the well swept patio, he doesn't bend over to  clean it up from his electric wheelchair. (Listening to this crap from a group of old gossips recently pushed me over the edge, and they got more than an ear full from me.)

Ray is sharp and very informed. He says it is only a matter of time when "one of these "%#!@! stupid wars will blow up this whole ^%#!&%! place!" , and when that happens, it will be, in his opinion, "because we deserve it for being so ^$#@!! stupid." He does not mince words.

But what truly brought me to tears,  was when he THANKED me, simply for taking the time to talk with him.  

Here he sits, this old soldier, at the end of a whole lifetime of paying the price he's paid to defend this country, being shunned and laughed at by the very people he defended.

It is getting harder and harder for me NOT  to hate, you know?  
 

ONward!

But what I DO do, is support our vets.  Yessiree, letters to congress, support for the VVA (or other vet organizations), fighting for my own VA case because it may set precedent for others like mine which follow, support of peace groups, etc.  THAT is how I try to support our troops because let's face, no one is going to make any difference with the Pentagon.  Only by turning public opinion can we make a difference so that they HAVE to listen to us, but that means getting rid of the civilian masters.  But we may have a better chance at swaying the powers that be to get the necessary medical treatment to those who come back damaged from this fiasco - and folks, that's most of them, and it is going to be VERY expensive.  That is, if the country does the right thing by it's young.

And, yes, I hate those goddamn little yellow ribbons!

"The law was made for one thing alone, for the exploitation of those who don't understand it, or are prevented by naked misery from obeying it."-B. Brecht