From ABC News:
Wrapping up a nine-day overseas trip to Iraq, Vice President Dick Cheney was asked, in an exclusive interview with ABC News, about the effect on the nation of today's grim milestone of at least 4,000 U.S. deaths over the five-year Iraq war.
Noting the burden placed on military families, the Vice President said the biggest burden is carried by President Bush, and reminded ABC news that the U.S. military in Iraq and Afghanistan volunteered for duty.
2 comments:
As an ex military guy myself, I find it hard to explain to civilians that we actually want to be deployed to somewhere where we can make a difference. Which is not to say we are stupid....memories of Burnside's Bridge, the charge of the light Brigade, Passendaele Ridge, and the sunken road at Antitam are always in the back of our minds. Maybe we will add Iraq and Afganistan to the list, or maybe not. I don't think a patrol cop really WANTS to go into some neighbourhoods at 4 in the morning, but he knows that by doing so, he will make a difference. And, like the military guys, he is an adult, and has made a clear and objective decision to volunteer, knowing that there may well be consequences.
History may yet vindicate or villify Mr. Bush and the American Foreign Policy...it is too early to say, and right now, the political climate is so polarized that nobody can really decide what the eventual verdict of history will be. This is quite normal, and I would certainly never presume to judge!
I posted something similar to this on my "rant" blog, perhaps you would read it through. The comments were even more interesting than the original post!
http://yusefsjournal2.blogspot.com/
Oh, I think you SHOULD presume..why not? You have the advantage of both proximity and a detached perspective, which is certainly more than I can say.
I think that Cheney's comment about volunteering is correct, but only in the absolute. I doubt VERY strongly that any significant percentage of those people who died actually thought there was a decent chance of it.. and increasing that chance by rotating them back in, again and again, sickens me. But its okay, because, hey, they volunteered? Right up there with 'bush bears the burden', in my book. The man's a soulless ghoul.
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