Since we are basing our continued participation in the Iraq War on the idea that if we leave, it will make "the troops" unhappy, I have an idea... Why don't we simply allow the troops who want to remain in Iraq do so, and allow any of their Republican supporters who feel the project is worthwhile (regardless of age or other pointless constraints - after all, everyone can contribute in some way) join them in their efforts - and let any troops who would prefer to return home do so? After all, Republican bloviating notwithstanding, "the troops" are not some singleminded blob - they are individual human beings with opinions and ideas and hearts of their own.
If we consider that the soldiers currently in Iraq are human beings, and their lives are at stake, then we must, out of human decency, give them a chance to decide how those lives will unfold. Iraq is not just some philosophical game for them, and they haven't had the freedom to speak for themselves about how they feel about it. The time has come to let them decide what they think would be best. No one is in a better position to know whether their efforts have been worthwhile. Let them decide if they are willing to continue to be maimed and die for this war... some will no doubt say "yes" and some "no". Either way, they would no longer be held as silent hostages to whatever other folks claim they want.
How would we pay for the inevitable bold surge of new Republican supporter-troops? Well, everyone would need to decide how they want their tax money to be spent... There could be a little check box on our tax forms. If you want your tax money to be spent on the Iraq War and checks to military contractors, check A. If you want your tax money to be spent on American infrastructure, education and healthcare, check B. That way the pro-war Republicans would be able to spend their tax money on this war for as long as they'd like, and it would benefit them directly, because they would be doing all the fighting to provide support to Iraq. Meanwhile, Democrats who would prefer to support America would be here at home building higher levees for New Orleans, better schools, repairing roads and building affordable transit systems, and ensuring that the power and water systems and port security are well maintained and actually effective. In short, democrats could ensure some badly needed rationality and competent management.
Some will say "they made their choice, and now they must do what they're told and keep their opinions to themselves until the military says otherwise". But seriously, how many of us were prepared at 17 or 18 years old to make serious life-changing decisions with any foresight for the consequences of our actions? To reasonably decide that slightly reduced college tuition was worth the possibility of losing his or her legs on the third deployment of an endless war? With no life experience, is it fair to let a kid sign away her or his rights and be sent to a brutal war without end in another country, far from home and subject to things that are much, much worse in real life than in movies? Research indicates that the part of our frontal lobe that controls foresight isn't even fully developed until our mid-20s... can any rational person jusify the need to force these kids to die for a youthful decision whose consequences were foggy at best?
And even for those who are happy with their decision or those who made it at an age where the consequences and risks were more clear, how much war is too much? Shouldn't there be some limit to the strain we put on military families? These aren't GI Joe action figures on a couch-pillow battlefield... these are human men and women with families and careers and lives. SO why not let them decide whether their next Iraq deployment is one deployment too many? How much blood is enough? How many lives? Families? How much grief and misery will it take to staunch the Republican bloodlust?
Here is what we need:
- We need a military troops bill of rights that includes the right to speak out about political matters when the troops are not actively at work (that includes personal and evening time in theater); the right to a detailed and clear explanation of all their benefits and equally clear instructions about how to get those benefits; the right to decline more than one (time constrained) tour of duty without reprisals (if we run out of troops, that is what drafts are for - no administration should be able to exploit the troops the way this one has done by overextending them endlessly to avoid the political consequences of a draft to fight their war); the right to decent medical care for life for the veteran and her /his entire immediate family; completely free education for veterans and members of the military; the right to vote on their high-level leadership (that is, the 4-star generals and above - no one should be able to hold such a high position in the military without the support of the troops); and the right to the best supplies and equipment to accomplish their tasks.
- We need to move away from focusing our attacks on the Bloodthirsty Bush administration. Going forward, we should attack the "Mistakes Have Been Made" conservatives. What I like about that characterization is that it uses their own words to perfectly describe both their incompetence and refusal to take responsibility for anything whatsoever. This phrase says it all, and the graphic counterpoint between the dry corporatese of the quote and the repulsive destruction these monsters wreak upon everything they touch is pertty persuasive.
- We need to get out and start protesting like grownups. The American people need to see our numbers - to know that we exist, that we are solemn and that we are just like them.