The President today welcomed troops home from Iraq, and though this is not the first time he has celebrated what he is calling the end to the conflict, his words were especially welcomed. He has celebrated the end repeatedly, true, but today he did it in the presence of returning service men and women. This is a great day for that reason.
For some heartwarming pictures of the President and First Lady hugging the soldiers, check out this link.
The President's Speech
President and First Lady were there, and it was stirring speech. As the video above shows, the troops were close on to the President and responded well to his rousing, patriotism stirring speech.
However one feels about the content of the speech, it was good to see these soldiers getting some acknowledgement for the service and sacrifices they gave.
On Wednesday at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, a post that sent thousands of troops to Iraq and saw more than 200 of them die there, Obama summoned glory and gravity. In a speech full of pride in American fighting forces, Obama declared to soldiers that the "war in Iraq will soon belong to history, and your service belongs to the ages."
So glad to see this sad chapter coming to an end. Sorry that Bushco are still not in jail.
One of the things the President said that I very much agree with is that it is worth celebrating the fact we are leaving Iraq to its people.
Afghanistan
I have a young relative who just left for another tour, this one in Afghanistan. Hope we can see them all back soon as well.
Was it worth it?
Nor surprisingly, the Wall Street Journal is trying cloud this for the President.
Anyone who wants to freep a WSJ poll that asks whether the Iraq War was over with, can do so, here.
http://online.wsj.com/...
###
Support the Troops (They Need Our Help)
Now that this phase is mostly over, we back home have our work cut out for us:
The toll however, has far outpaced initial estimates: More than 700,000 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans have already shown up at Department of Veterans Affairs clinics and hospitals — and more than half of them have mental health conditions,according to the Austin-based group Veterans for Common Sense.
Perhaps the biggest lesson of the wars — the need for longer time at home between deployments — still remains a goal, although longer "dwell times" are probably on the horizon.
At Fort Hood, the questions are how to make post-war Army training engaging enough for soldiers used to the real thing and how to motivate those war veterans to stay in the Army. "They have so much experience; we will need them down the road," Fort Hood commander Lt. Gen. Donald Campbell Jr. said.
Fort Hood is also hoping to prevent the mental health problems that occurred in 2010, when the post's population was similarly swelled by returning soldiers. That year, Fort Hood set a record with 22 suicides.
The challenges facing soldiers transitioning to the civilian world are well documented: Unemployment rates for young veterans continue to outpace those for their civilian counterparts, and veterans younger than 30 now make up nearly 9 percent of all homeless veterans.
Republicans love to mouth "Support the Troops", but when the rubber meets the road, as it is now, veterans get the most support from Democrats. That's worth fighting for.
Namaste.