State of the Union - Concerns, Rants, and Opinions of One Soldier's Spouse

Several good friends on mine are involved (read as - Are over there) in Operation Iraqi Freedom (aka Desert Storm Part 2). Listening and reading up - in preparation for the President's State of the Union address - I found myself in some quandries over the State of Our Union... After talking with one of my other friends, who has a husband involved in this miasma, I found she had similar concerns - concerns she had written down in the form of a letter.

After reading that letter, I found myself in agreement with quite a few points. So... I am posting her letter here...

Mind you... these are OPINIONS and FEELINGS! If you don't agree, you are entitled to your opinion too. Just be respectful.

It’s the day of the President’s State of the Union Address, and still the focus is on Iraq and Bush’s plans there. I can tell you that the State of our Union is “in the toilet”. Americans, across the board, need to wake up and smell the coffee. Our political leaders need to get their heads from the dark recesses of their bodily nether regions and remember that THIS is the country they have been chosen to lead and serve. NONE of them have been doing a good job of that, in my humble opinion.

Do I like the thought of sending another 21,500 troops into Iraq? NO! Do I think we need to do what we can to end this ill-advised venture? Yes. If that means that we have to surge troops for a while to quell the growing insurgency in order for the Iraqi government to have a chance to get on its feet, then yes, I will support that surge.

My husband is one of the 132,000 troops that is currently in serving Iraq. I want him to come home. I want them all to come home right NOW, but that is not to be. Through the arrogance of our political leaders, we are attempting to turn a middle-eastern country from its dictatorial past to a democracy-based future. The culture of this area has been rooted in fighting for power for hundreds of years. The thought that the U.S. would be the ones who could walk in and say “Hey guys, why don’t you try it this way?” is ridiculous.

While I’m sure the Iraqis – Sunni, Shiite and Kurd alike – are grateful to no longer be under the threat of Saddam Hussein, the U.S. is a greater hatred to them. Our presence there inflames the insurgency. Even they can see that for all its protestations to the contrary, the United States seems to be attempting to control their government. Be an advisor, be a support, but the U.S. is now doing more harm than good.

I read recently that the only city in the country to have really made progress towards peace, stability and democracy is Mosul. The commander of the armed forces there took a path that I think was neglected elsewhere, and managed to restore peace after insurgency, and has helped that city begin to rebuild -- because they followed through on their mission. They stopped the insurgency, and protected the areas where the insurgents were removed to keep them from reforming. They didn’t leave the citizens unprotected. As a result, Mosul is becoming a model for peace and the future of Iraq. This should be our goal.

This appears to be what President Bush wants to accomplish with his troop surge for Baghdad. You know what? If that is his agenda, that’s great! Let’s get in there and get this thing done, so our men and women can come home. Believe me, I am no fan of this President. I think he is foolhardy, headstrong, and unwilling to truly listen to advice and alternatives. As a result, his plan to topple Hussein has turned into an epidemic that he cannot abandon now. He’d have to admit “defeat”. I tell you, if I hear him talk about “victory” or “winning” again, I’ll scream. WE CANNOT WIN IN IRAQ – WE CANNOT WIN AGAINST TERRORISM. All we can do is make sure that OUR country is as safe as possible, that OUR citizens are thriving and that OUR government is looking out for OUR best interests.

Did we need to remove Saddam Hussein from power? Yes. Did we need to do it right then? No. Did we need to attack Al Queda for the horror and destruction they wrought on this country on September 11? Yes. Should we have continued to find Osama bin Laden first? Yes. Were we lied to in order to gain public support for this deviation in the plan? Yes. Well, President Bush, you’ve made our bed, and now we all have to lie in it.

To Congress I say: Cut funding for these troops or this surge, and you will have military families everywhere up in arms and doing all they can to vote you out at the next election. Cut funding for the troops and this surge, and all you are doing is taking food and housing out of the mouths of the very people who have sworn to protect this country and who are even now putting their lives at risk for all Americans. THAT is just wrong. When and IF you do that, all you are doing is telling these troops (that you claim to support) that you believe they will fail - that you do not believe in their mission. How can you support the troops if you do not believe in their mission or their success? If you want to hurt the President, or stop his policies, you need to find a way to do so without hurting the people who both serve this country and who elected you to your vaulted position.

In November, Democrats (particularly Nancy Pelosi) promised to work towards creating more bipartisan politics in our government. Bipartisanship cannot be accomplished with threats against each side. True bipartisanship only works when the parties involved learn to communicate and compromise. We haven’t had that type of bipartisan politics in the country in decades, if not longer. In this age of technology, we (the public) can learn anything we want practically at our fingertips. Politicians can no longer hope that the public won’t find out information quickly or accurately. We need a change, and we need that change soon.

So… here’s the lesson plan for President Bush, Congress and future members of each:

1. Take care of your own first.
2. Be honest with your constituents (We are actually pretty intelligent).
3. WORK TOGETHER to promote change, growth and progress.
4. HELP our world neighbors – but don’t FORCE it on them.
5. Learn to ADVISE and COUNSEL – save the threats for those that truly don’t get it and you’ll be more effective.

The United States has enough internal problems at the moment – education, health care, social security – that we need to fix ourselves before we can even hope to be effective to fixing others. Let’s start there and see what you can do.

A Concerned Citizen and Proud Wife of a National Guardsman