Tuesday, November 22, 2005

Won't get Flanigan

Bush and Rumsfeld continue to mislead U.S. citizens and troops in Iraq

First published: Monday, November 21, 2005

In the debate about the war in Iraq, which has intensified since Cindy Sheehan began her protest outside President Bush's ranch, one of the most frequently heard arguments is that Iraq is different from Vietnam because many of our troops in Vietnam were drafted, while all of our soldiers in Iraq volunteered to join the military.
Some commentators have even implied that Mrs. Sheehan's grief over the loss of her son should be less because he was a volunteer.

I'm not sure this should make a difference. Joining the military service, regardless of whether one was drafted or volunteered, is similar to entering an agreement between an employer and employee.

The employee, in this case the soldier or officer, agrees to commit his or her time and efforts to training, being deployed wherever needed and, if necessary, fighting or even dying on behalf of the employer. In the Iraqi conflict, members of the military service, with few exceptions, have carried out their obligations with professionalism and valor.

The employer, in this case led by Commander-in-Chief George W. Bush and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, should make a commitment to not entering into combat lightly. If it is determined that combat is necessary, the employer should carefully plan for every possible contingency, consult with experts on the region where the conflict will take place and insure that adequate numbers of troops are deployed to get the job done. Those troops should be given the best equipment available and should be supported by troops and commitments from as many allied countries as possible.

In every one of these areas, President Bush and Secretary Rumsfeld have failed our troops and failed them miserably.

Supporting our troops should not automatically mean supporting a president who continues to try to cover up his own incompetence by hiding behind the bravery of those troops. Conversely, our troops should not be faulted for the failures in planning and execution on the part of Bush, Rumsfeld and company.

The fact that the American people are beginning to make this distinction between the job being done by our soldiers and the job not being done by their leaders is the real difference between Vietnam and the war in Iraq.

JAMES FLANIGAN