I am the sister-in-law to a mother of a soldier being mobilized for Iraq. We went through mobilization ceremonies on the weekend and now life settles down as 'our soldier' returns to training at Fort Dix in prep for shipping out to Iraq in late August/early Sept.
Yesterday we took his Mom out to lunch...well, sort of. She always insists that we go 'dutch treat,' and that's what we did.
She seems okay, but how can we know? She is very private and doesn't talk much about what she is feeling. I have told her that we would like to help her through the next 13-14 months, but she is decidedly tight-lipped about what might be helpful. She knows we are here should she want/need to talk.
I am thinking that I should resolve to write her son every day or two to keep him informed how SHE is doing. He might worry about her and this might be helpful to him. Good idea!!
I picked up news of the discovery of the bodies of the two soldiers captured in Baghdad this morning. It was horrifing and troubling to hear that their bodies had been found mutilated. They need DNA studies to be certain that these are the men they are looking for....that's how bad it is!
Should we be surprised that they were mutilated? We were told that we should be very concerned about conditions at Abu Graib and Guantanamo as it could 'blow back' on US troops! I want to scream to Bush, Rumsfeld, Gonzalez, and Cheney that THIS is why we don't torture and we DO follow the Geneva Conventions. Something tells me that if THEY were in the military, THEY would be concerned that we follow the accords. Oh, but they're NOT! And most of them never were.
Some people will argue that Bush served, but that remains to be seen. Did he truly serve or did he desert? Seems to me that one is mutually exclusive of the other! Just cause Dan Rather couldn't verify the authenticity of his story, doesn't mean it was wrong!