I’ve been thinking about President Bush’s speech last night. I didn’t get to hear it, not wanting to get up at 0400 to listen to it, but I have seen news reports and images.
The first thing that I noted was that he made the speech from Fort Bragg North Carolina, home of the 82nd Airborne Division. Why there? Why not in the Rose Garden? Well, I’m pretty sure it was so he would have a docile audience, and so he could get photos of himself surrounded by soldiers.
I understand from reports that the only time, the ONLY time, soldiers clapped for him was when one of his staffers started clapping and kept it up until the President got a round of applause. That tells you something.
The soldiers were in the Class A uniform rather than the normal battle dress uniform. I.e., formal, not informal. When the Commander In Chief comes, the soldiers have no choice but to show up. Not attending is not an option. So, it seems to me that the President just ordered up a nice photogenic backdrop for this speech, not unlike his “Mission Accomplished” speech on the aircraft carrier. I wonder why, if the mission was accomplished, I am here seeing my fellow Idahoans being maimed and killed.
I do think that we have an opportunity to permanently remake the Middle East, and to start a process toward permanent peace and democracy in the region. I believe this is a noble endeavor. We are doing well here, but we need lots more help. We will need 10 to 20 years, a generation, maybe two, and at least a trillion dollars, to pull this off.
I just don’t appreciate soldiers, sailors or any service person being exploited to provide good images in support of a cause for which they are already being asked to risk their lives. That is shameless, especially when the person doing the exploiting refuses to ask anyone else to make a sacrifice. President Bush said Americans can fly a flag, or send a letter, or help a military family down the street, to show support. He's asking Americans to fly a flag or send a letter, but he's asking service members to give their lives. Seems disproportionate to me.
2 comments:
Shame on him, indeed. I can't even stand to watch him anymore.
Thank you, Oneguy for your thoughts and for your service. I've been reading for a several months.
I agree, it is quite disproportionate. Its one of the disadvantages of having an all-volunteer military. We can be at war, but only a small percentage of the population has to feel the direct effects. I'm not advocating the return of the draft, mind you, just making an observation.
One clarification, though...much was made in the media of the fact that none of the soldiers clapped. From what I've read, there was some confusion as to what the soldiers were allowed to do (this was supposed to be more of a foreign policy speech than a "good job over there rah-rah troops" speech...which raises the question, why at Fort Bragg in the first place?), so many of the soldiers believed they were under orders not to make a scene. As exhibit B, I offer up the fact that any other time, the President is given a raucous welcoming at a military base.
Anyway, thank you for writing; its good to have reports directly from the front as to what is going on, etc. I was worried for a bit that you had dropped off the map (I've been on vacation the past few weeks). Glad to see you got some R&R. Keep it up.
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