On Friday, I watched as the two presidential candidates squared off for their first debate. As an Iraq veteran and as the Executive Director of the nation's first and largest group for veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, I have a vested interest in the future direction of our foreign policy.
But in a debate that bounced from fiscal responsibility to off-shore drilling and nuclear energy, one thing was notably absent: any real discussion of the overall readiness of our military or veterans' issues. And this was supposed to be the debate on national security? Over and over again, we heard about Wall Street and Main Street. Well what about Range Road?
Seven years of war have pushed our military to a breaking point. But on Friday, critical issues such as recruiting woes, equipment shortfalls, the overextension of our reserve forces, and the spiraling rate of mental health injuries went ignored. Our troops are serving multiple, extended combat tours, and suicide numbers for the Army are tragically at a historic high. Alarmingly, most experts now warn that our military might not be able to respond effectively if another conflict were to break out.
While last week's near meltdown of the financial sector made it difficult to ignore the current economic crisis, I wasn't expecting the concerns of our military or veterans' issues to fall by the wayside entirely. It took a full 40 minutes before Senators Obama and McCain even began discussing the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. How much of the remaining time was devoted to veterans' issues? About five minutes.
And the only time the issues of our troops even took center-stage was when both candidates pointed to the bracelets given to them by mothers of service members who were killed in action in Iraq. That looked like two candidates using our troops as political props yet again.
Foreign policy and national security cannot and should not sit on the backburner. Let's hope Senator Biden and Governor Palin, who will both have sons serving in Iraq by Election Day, do a better job addressing these issues tonight. Our nation's service members and veterans will be watching.
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MIA is an understatement~
Less than 1% of this country is either military or of military families.
My son and son in law just got back and the relief is just indescribable.
I thank you for all your work and so do my Marines~
Semper Fidelis
My mother's brother-in-law had his pants blown off in theD-Day invasion. He still fights the VA for benefits, still walks with a cane, still has shrapnel in his leg.
My mother's brother took shrapnel in the gut in Korea; same story.
It's the Life as Holy War and Society as War Machine and Humans as Cogs in that War Machine myth, my silly brother! I am not a machine. Are you? Then why do we persist in treating Mother Nature as a god-forsaken machine, hmm?
As for Sara Palin, well Her son is serving in the Military isn't He, I would think that that fact it's Self would make Sara Palin want to think & gather more information about the Military, however why do I have this sense that Mrs.Palin could careless about the Military (in so-many ways).
Look how Sara Palin uses Her Children that aren't in the Military...
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More Power & Respect to Her Son,May the Troops & all that's good in the Universe be with Him & the rest of the Sons & Daughters of America & it's/Their Allies!!
Sen.Biden is the Polar opposite of Gov.Palin, Much Respect for Sen.Biden (for a few CORE reasons, and some others as-well)!
Smile, Sen.Obama is Sen.Obama, I Believe that Sen.Obama wants to do right in/for all are Namesakes , which may just be a Dream it's self however I rather have Hope then blatant Lies & Mis-Trust!
I know that when it comes to Politicians they may all have the same faults to a degree, however Sen.McCain has crossed the line of even slightly acceptable, when it comes to most (if not all) Politicians similar faults, just look at the Videos of McCain......
It is something that is long overdue. I'm not sure why it hasn't been brought up so far, but tonight would seem like a great opportunity to do so since McCain is not there to get his sympathy factor and bring up the POW thing and it would be fun to watch Plain try to deal with it.
Obama had to lay low on the first debate, so I am hoping he will weigh in next time, but why not get the ball rolling tonight.
I hope they do. McCain has a terrible record on this subject and in the last debate he said a couple of times that he was the one to take care of our troops. What a joke. Its time to just lower the boom on him for that.
Your Friend,
Mark Finelli
Sole WTC 9.11 Survivor to Enlist in the Marines and Fight in Iraq