Supporting the troops

The other day I was browsing AmericaSupportsYou.mil, the site mentioned by Bush in his recent Iraq-related address.  His description:

The Department of Defense has set up a website -- AmericaSupportsYou.mil. You can go there to learn about private efforts in your own community. At this time when we celebrate our freedom, let us stand with the men and women who defend us all.

Of course, I'm skeptical of most anything proposed by Bush.  But I figured it's my tax money paying for this website too, and I do honestly support the troops (just not the war), so I figured I'd check it out.

As I expected, "support the troops" is really just code for "Support the war" - here are a few messages being promulgated by our tax money (after the break):

You are my heroes. I wish there were some way I could give every one of you a giant hug. I pray for your safety and success daily. I know the Lord hears my prayers because I see on the news (at least on FOX News) all the progress you have made in Iraq and Afghanistan. Wow, am I proud to be an American right now! You prove to the rest of the world what we stand for! God Bless You all!
Nancy P. Owen-Hawkins, Dayton, OH

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We are SO PROUD of all of you; for your Bravery, your Courage, your Integrity, your Patriotism, your Loyalty, and your Compassion for Mankind. My husband and I Pray daily, for you all and for our President, George W. Bush. MAY GOD BLESS EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU.
Dana & Julia Loy, Borden, IN

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To our Military, We listened to President Bush speak to the men and women serving at Fort Bragg. We were so proud of his commitment to the safety of America and his respect and admiration for our troops. We love and appreciate you for all that you do to make the world a better and a safer place for us all. We pray for you each day, for your success and your safety. God bless you!
Jay & Lynn Douglas, Mesa, AZ

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As a Navy vet (70-74), I support the president,our mission, and you the fighting men and women of our armed service! Keep up all the good work and know that this old sailor IS on your side. Stay safe and godspeed.
John Michl, Keokuk, IA

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Dear Soldier, I heard President Bush's speech at Fort Bragg yesterday and was moved to write you and say how grateful my family is for you. You are a true representation of our wonderful country and you bless the world by your service. I hope you know that. We will never stop praying for victory and are thanking God in advance for it. The battle is here just as it is there, as we try to deal with the complainers, but we are proud to join you in support of this noble pursuit for Freedom. Never give up! We love you,
Cil Rivera, Granada Hills, CA

Other messages are a bit more generic - most mention God, a few specify Jesus, many use rhetoric like "stay the course" or "good and evil" or offer disdain for "politics", and so forth.  Many link the concept of freedom to our action over there (one on the scope of WW2) - a wee bit flawed, but at least less objectionable than the comments I chose to highlight (which I would argue are all blatantly political).

But of all the messages I went through (the first 200 or so), none offered the view I hold, and I expect many of you share with me.  None offered support for the troops yet words of caution regarding their mission and commander.  No doubt much (arguably most) of America feels this way, so why not send that heartfelt message of support to the troops as well?  They are, after all, quite directly affected by the misdeeds of our leaders.

I chose to highlight the comments shown above because they offer little more than cheerleading for the administration, not genuine support for the troops.  Were I serving in Iraq, I would not be uplifted by such a message - quite the opposite, in fact.  They divide America, painting a situation where you have to be on the right "side" politically (that is, support the administration) in order to truly and genuinely support the troops, and in order to be a "real" American (and not merely a "complainer").

I'm sure you've all encountered this phenomenon before - I did most notably when I protested this conflict.  But at least then it was just a few nutty counter-protestors waving flags (they were quite confused when we waved Old Glory right back at them, and even repeated their chants about supporting the troops, just with a few modifications about the war) - now it's an official government funded and supported website.

Imagine if the Clinton administration had tried to pull of a similar stunt - folks on the right would skewer it instantly, accuse it of being partisan, and so forth.  That said, I'm not calling for that - why use rhetoric when you can use reason?

I believe we should submit our own messages of support - genuine support for the troops, not cheerleading for a failed administration.  I suggest writing messages not too overly charged on the rhetoric, but intelligent and subtle enough to get the point across.  If and when they are censored/not accepted by this site, I would seriously consider submitting some sort of complaint/petition, as it is our money backing this site, and more importantly, we're Americans too.

So, I suggest writing and sending your message of support, and also posting a copy of it in a comment here, both to give others inspiration and to archive it in case they don't post it.  If we send them a goodly number of well-written enlightened comments that support the troops but not the war, maybe we'll break through.  Our view is important and represents America just as much, if not moreso, than the cheerleading comments I highlighted.

Here is what I sent:

I just want to say that you all are truly brave and I hope you stay safe and come home as soon as possible.  I would like to speak for the many Americans who have doubts about this administration yet still have genuine respect and support for our men and women in the service.  I just want you to know that no matter what political rhetoric you here fired about, from either "side", that we all truly support you and wish you the best.  We are all Americans, and we all stand with you.  Thank you for your service.

I encourage you to send your own messages, and if and when we are censored we will plan our next course of action.  Thank you for your time.

•  Tips/etc.

  Thanks for reading, please do write a message and recommend if you feel it's worthwhile.  I know it's not exactly groundbreaking news, and I perhaps don't write in the most exciting/sensationalized fashion, but I feel it is genuinely important.  Thanks.

  by Aaron on Tue Jul 05, 2005 at 06:41:55 AM PDT

  •  I don't have screen shots,

    but I'm pretty sure this site changed significantly around the time of Bush's speech. I had been there a few weeks before gathering info for a list of non-profits which enable citizens to really support troops and veterans. At that time, I didn't notice anything in particular about the home page -- it seemed like a pretty straightforward website run by the DOD with a sub-page offering links to a lot of great organizations. When I went back after the speech to check on a reference, the site was dominated by the messages you've referred to. You can still get to the site with lists of organizations helping the troops and veterans with one click (as before, I think), but the home page now is much more visually aggressive.

    by deselby on Tue Jul 05, 2005 at 11:06:49 AM PDT

    •  Do you remember it looking more like...

      ...this?

      If so, I might try and dig around and put together some research for Bush not only promoting but changing this site for political purposes.  This story might have a bit of meat to it after all.

      by Aaron on Wed Jul 06, 2005 at 06:07:58 AM PDT

•  Difficult concept: Oppose the war, support the

  troops.  This is increasingly difficult for me.  It's like trying to separate the crime from the criminal.  They're not draftees and they have had plenty of time to figure out that they have been duped.  They should disobey illegal orders, which is all of them in this illegal war.

  I just don't support burning the flesh off children while they live, conscious, to savor the experience.  Why shouldn't I call them Babykillers.  They are killing babies, aren't they?  I could support troops going after Osama but there really are not a lot of troops doing that.

  Frankly this whole 'support the troops' thing is merely rhetorical extortion, because we are being made to feel unpatriotic for not supporting the troops.  There were a few Germans who did not support SS atrocities.  In hindsight, do we think they were unpatriotic?  There is not a dime's worth of difference between what troops are doing in our name in Iraq and what the Wermacht did in eastern Europe. In both cases it boils down to Imperial expansion and both the doers and the designers bear responsibility for it.

  by NorCalJim on Tue Jul 05, 2005 at 07:04:33 AM PDT

  •  Good points

    But you forget why many of them serve, and the commitment that it is.  Many are there out of economic pressures, and many are committed and cannot afford, either conciously or practically, to disobey orders they disagree with.  That is simply not good military practice.

    The American military, while mislead (just as the American people have been by this administration), is still a good organization, nowhere near comparable to the SS.  It is that sort of slander that allows the right to use this "rhetorical extortion" technique, and even if they're wrong in doing so, it sure works.

    So, I say we fight back, but subtly.  We show we support the troops as well, in the capacity that they are Americans serving this country, but that we disagree with their leaders and their mission.  Believe me, plenty of troops feel the same way.  It's easy to say "they should disobey illegal orders", but it's hard when you're actually in their shoes.

    by Aaron on Tue Jul 05, 2005 at 07:12:35 AM PDT

•  nobody I know in the army

  looks at, or even KNOWS ABOUT that site.

  by soonergrunt on Tue Jul 05, 2005 at 07:40:12 AM PDT

  •  Hrmm fair enough

    Thanks for the heads up, what would be a more direct and widespread way of getting messages of support across?

    The site is on the new side, I think, but it does look official and has (apparently) comments from troops in response (though I scrolled through and some seemed to be stateside troops offering support for deployed servicemembers).

    Anyway, thanks for your comment.  The substance of what I said still applies, I feel, but if the site is an unpublicized hollow front then I suppose it's not worth too much bother.

    by Aaron on Tue Jul 05, 2005 at 07:45:30 AM PDT

•  My own entry. Wonder it will get up...

  Americans of all political stripes support your efforts in this increasingly difficult task, and understand that you are doing the best you can. I pray you come home safe to your families, and the sooner the better!

  by AWhitneyBrown on Tue Jul 05, 2005 at 08:04:32 AM PDT

•  I did my best....

  I posted a comment, I will repeat something to you all John Kerry said, but never really ran with...

  You can support the warrior, not the war.

  Take that to heart, Tell then you are fighting to bring them home, to right the wrongs of this administration, and to insure that there is a strong America to come home too.

  Hope that helps.

  by Ioo on Tue Jul 05, 2005 at 08:07:24 AM PDT

•  Don't Support the Troops. Rescue Them

  I Have a better phrase than support the troops

  RESCUE THE TROOPS

  by stu piddy on Tue Jul 05, 2005 at 08:08:19 AM PDT