As the 112th Congress begins auspiciously wasting time and energy on attempting to repeal Health Care Reform and talk of doing a similar dance with the humane repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell, there are as of this morning 5860 American soldiers who have given their lives in the line of service since the inception of the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars. That's 5860 families who have forever been changed by the devastation of war and as much as I realize I am inviting vitriol I do not care because I believe most of you have forgotten about these soldiers.
The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are not necessarily the direct responsibility of Congress but they certainly have the responsibility of continuing to fund these wars and have blood on their hands from the first day of conflict to this very day. I've tired of the rhetoric and I can no longer believe that there isn't a way to bring or brave and courageous soldiers safely home and end the non-stop exodus of American tax dollars that further complicate our domestic agenda and the profound emotional cost of these wars, which are far more detrimental than dollars will ever be.
We must stop funding these wars and we must stop believing that democracy is somehow being defended in these two conflicts that have nothing to do with protecting us or making us somehow safer.
Before you go off on me I will remind you, for those who do not know, that I have one son who served in the military and one who is planning to join sometime this year. I am not anti military and I am not anti war, but I am pro truth and I am pro sanity and at this point there is nothing sane about the two wars we are still embroiled in no matter how you frame it.
We are told that our work in Iraq is mostly done, but mostly is all those who hold power need to continue to suck dollars and lives from our local communities. Afghanistan is not going well and although President Obama made what I thought was a terrible decision to continue the conflict in Afghanistan continues to tell us that progress is being made, how much longer do we have to be stressed and lied to before we realize that no matter what we want to accomplish, the two countries where our military presence is supposedly critical is not only unwanted but no longer helpful to their local causes. There would be no shame is taking our weapons and going home at this point as politicians are the only ones who seem to believe that whatever American democracy is is something that everyone wants, as that is clearly untrue.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, loss of limb(s), profound medical conditions what will plague these men and women for the remainder of their lives and the tremendous cost this created will be a reminder for the next two generations of what happens when bad decisions are allowed to continue unchallenged for years.
What is honestly being accomplished now in either Iraq or Afghanistan that is making positive difference? Name a particular victory of late, or at all, that is obvious as a result of the two wars since Saddam Hussein was captured? Name one!
The Washington Post keeps an ongoing list of the fallen heroes of these conflicts, and they are heroes. You should be mindful and actually outraged at how little we hear today about these ongoing conflicts. And shame on you if you think these conflicts are not making news anymore because there is no news because there is every day we just ignore it as a media and as a people.
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