Over the last several years I have sat silently as I watched
politicians accuse each other of "not supporting our troops." I have
sat in traffic and gazed upon a multitude of "Support Our Troops"
stickers which in essence has done little more than make sticker
companies rich. Also, I was quiet when our wounded soldiers sat in
barracks festering with mold and plagued with rats. After today, I
can no longer remain silent.
On Wednesday, Senator Jim Webb tried to get a vote
before congress to require that all military personal be allowed an
equal amount of time at home before deploying back to Iraq. The vote
failed. It required sixty votes and only received fifty-six. Setting
aside all politics, I find it immoral to ask our military personnel
(which now include our National Guard) to serve in Iraq without
adequate time between deployments to reunite with their families and
to decompress from the intense hypervigilance they endure to survive
in that war torn country.
Voting against Senator Jim Webb's proposal is the most glaring example
of "not supporting our troops" that I have witnessed to date. I'm
going to write Claire McCaskill and I would urge all those who
genuinely care about our men and women in the military to also write
their elected representatives. This is a golden opportunity to
demonstrate that those who have continued to push this war have little
conscience, morals, or concern for our military personnel. Each
senator who voted against Senator Webb's proposal should be held in
contempt by the citizens of this country, who have spoken in the last
election, and demanded an end to this madness in the Middle East.