Bringing The Troops Home

Here's an op-ed (registration required) from a solider in Iraq worth reading (hat tip: Instapundit).  Here's the money parts:

"Let's support our troops. Bring them home." Please don't ever say those words again. Nothing is so disheartening to our troops who are in harm's way than to hear our own citizens say things like that...

As I said before, there are two different wars being fought: the war in Iraq and the war being reported in the media. Very few times are the great things that are being done in Iraq reported on because they do not grab the headlines or the ratings that casualties do...

I will wrap this up by saying that you are entitled to your beliefs, and you should believe in whatever you want, but don't pretend to know what you are talking about just because you have watched 30 minutes of CNN the night before. Go and talk to the people who have been there — not the people who make assumptions from a TV studio — and then form your opinion based on facts...

Don't pretend to support troops by trying to undercut their efforts at the same time. Just go to bed at night and pray for their safety and thank God that they are there to protect you and your family, no matter your beliefs.

On a related note, aging has-been, Hanoi Jane, emboldened by her recent return to the public eye, is feeling nostalgic for her days of supporting the Viet Cong, and is finally letting the public know where she stands on the war in Iraq.  She'll be taking her vegetable-oil bus across country to protest the war and demand the return of US troops.  Since major combat is over, it's unclear what exactly she'll be protesting, though, given initial reports, she'll focus on withdrawing troops as quickly as possible.  No word yet on Fonda's policy prescriptions - whether she supports returning Hussein and his Baathist henchman to power, or whether she's hoping for the establishment of an Islamic state.

Comments

[Abe Heward]

http://www.lewrockwell.com/kenny/kenny8.html

[Jason Turner]

As to the commenter above, I agree with the sentiments of the linked article. It is indeed possible to support the troops while questioning the overarching strategy or the rationale for a war. And an educated populace that maintains civilian control of the military is essential for the functioning of a democratic republic.

That being said, I do, for historical reason - have serious doubts about the patriotism of Jane Fonda, doubts I would not have, for example, with John Kerry, or even Ted Kennedy. Her criticisms extend much further than just the current war and I don't know how by any conceivable stretch she could be construed as a constructive critic.

Furthermore, though she has every legal right to do so, I don't see how anyone could take Fonda's efforts seriously. And I have no idea what their purpose will be. 'Protesting the war' at this point has very little meaning. Can she mean she is advocating a complete withdrawal? Is she advocating it become a UN mission? Is she advocating that the Baathists return to power? Or is she advocating for complete global withdrawal from Iraq come what may? And how exactly is she supporting the troops, since that is ostensibly the purpose of her tour?

Fonda is, of course, free to turn herself into a sad caricature - just as I am free to harrangue and criticize this aging communist sympathizer from the sidelines.