How much longer will the citizens of Kentucky tolerate the arrogance, the obstruction, the naked greed, the callous disregard for our soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines?
How much longer will the citizens of Kentucky tolerate the arrogance, the obstruction, the naked greed, the callous disregard for our soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines? Men and women sent off to die by men who dodged their military responsibilities when their country needed courage. Men who profit from war while troops and their families are asked for sacrifice. Men who insult veterans while soldiers serve with honor. Men who fly to far-off lands to consort with desert kings while troops fly home in the other direction; wounded, broken and soon to be forgotten. Why are the candidates for political office running away from the war in Iraq? Do they really believe the "surge" has worked? Is there any evidence of political reconciliation? Does a minor dip in the incidents of violence outweigh the fact that this has been the deadliest year yet for our troops? Do they question the wisdom of funding and arming men who months ago were killing us? Do they wonder if one day those weapons will be turned back against us, or against the "legitimate" government we have shed so much blood to prop up? Are they appalled by the reliance on "reverse body counts" to measure our success? In Viet Nam, the number of enemies killed was the measure of success of a mission, and was usually inflated. In Iraq, the number of U.S. troops killed during a mission is our new metric. If fewer soldiers die this month than last, well, that means we are winning. Tell that to the mothers of the dead troops. Do the candidates wonder when, not if, the military will snap under the strain of a war on two fronts? Are they paralyzed by fear? Andrew Horne is not the kind of man to run away from the war because he has marched towards war twice in his 27- year military career. As a veteran who served in one of those wars, I am supporting Andrew Horne because he is the ONLY candidate who can speak with authority on the war in Iraq and the catastrophe it has become not just for our active-duty soldiers and their families, but for returning veterans as well. Traumatic Brain Injury and mental health issues will be the Agent Orange of this war, and the consequent social costs of these conditions will be absolutely staggering in the years to come. As a Senior Adviser for VoteVets, Andrew has been addressing these issues on the national level for years. We have already witnessed the appalling treatment of our returning wounded warriors. A soldier being treated for war injuries in Fort Knox, KY died recently sitting in a chair. He was most likely unconscious for days, and dead for hours before anyone in his chain of command noticed. All the while, his wife was frantically calling anyone who would listen to check on his condition. I put the blame for this repugnant tragedy squarely on the shoulders of the men and women whose rhetoric and votes and "support for the troops" continue to prosecute and prolong this reckless, endless "War on Terror". I am a Gulf War infantry veteran, an anti-war activist and a patriot and I support Lt. Col. Andrew Horne for Senate.