Support the Troops, Vote Republican

I saw a 'Support the Troops, Vote Republican' bumper sticker today and thought it somewhat ironic.

The Bush administration deceived the American public (or if you give Bush/Cheney the benefit of the doubt; they are not liars, merely incompetent) and waged a pre-emptive war against a country that posed no threat to our security. The war has done nothing to increase our future security. If anything, our occupation of Iraq has inflamed anti-US sentiment in the Muslim world and created more potential jihadists.

This needless war has cost the lives of 4,032 soldiers and marines to date. At least 30,000 more servicemen have been wounded; many returning home without limbs lost in IED attacks. Tours of duty have been extended from 12 to 15 months. According to statistics provided by the Army in this New York Times article, "Among the 513,000 active-duty soldiers who have served in Iraq since the invasion of 2003, more than 197,000 have deployed more than once, and more than 53,000 have deployed three or more times." Multiple deployments, with only 12 months between deployments, are causing growing mental health problems (see here and here). That is an odd concept of supporting the troops.

In Bush's warped sense of reality he probably thinks that he is doing the troops a favor, sending them off on some grand adventure. As he recently related to military personnel in Afghanistan, " 'I must say, I'm a little envious,' Bush said. 'If I were slightly younger and not employed here, I think it would be a fantastic experience to be on the front lines of helping this young democracy succeed.' 'It must be exciting for you ... in some ways romantic, in some ways, you know, confronting danger. You're really making history, and thanks.' "

If you really want to support the troops, then bring them home.