“Support our troops” vs. “Support the war”
By 
Shan-ul-Hai •
April 25, 2008
Many people in the US say that you should “support our troops” so that they don’t have to use a more controversial phrase like “support the war.” This leads to a sort of emotional connection between a person and the war in Iraq, and we tend to think something along the lines of “well, I don’t have anything against the troops, so I guess I should support the war effort.” Somehow, this causes people to believe that the best way to “support the troops” is to send them on another tour of duty in Iraq.
Honestly, I can’t remember the last time I heard somebody concern themselves with the well-being of the troops in Iraq. The suicide rates among these soldiers is abysmal, but people still somehow think that “supporting the troops” means that we should keep them there. Depression is rampant and repeated tours of duty (partially thanks to the Stop-Loss program, which keeps soldiers in Iraq past the date when they were promised that they could leave) are breaking up young families. And today, I saw a report that actually suprised me… it hasn’t been proven yet, but apparently, some of the soldiers are being fed improperly.
Apparently, some people believe that “support our troops” means “send our most patriotic young citizens to be depressed, lose their family, and possibly commit suicide while keeping them underfed”.
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I can only assume from the tone of this post that you are against the war. In my opinion, I think the war in Iraq is hopeless and only hurts us in the long run. We might bring democracy to the region and create a better life for the people there, but how long will that take and at what expense on the United States’ part? However, the soldiers aren’t the ones who chose to go to Iraq and so I think the fact that they’re supporting their country because it’s their duty and it’s what they believe in and they should be supported in any way possible. My support of the troops doesn’t necessarily mean I support the war. The devastation it has caused for U.S. soldiers is hard to comprehend in one sitting. We support them because they are our brothers/sisters/mothers/fathers/uncles, etc. and because it was not their choice to go to Iraq. They might not believe in Iraq’s cause, but they believe in America, and that’s all the reason in the world to support them.
Great post! I want other people to read this! I’m going to reference it my newest post (assuming you don’t mind) so that I can recommend it to others.
I can only hope that the next President knows that, and even though all three hopefuls pretend supporting the troops equals supporting the continuation of their mission, I hope the elected President will know there is a difference.
In other words, I hope Obama knows what he’s doing. The fact he’s not wearing a “patriotic” badge encourages me.
We should stop the war.According to statistic ,the numbers of victims are even more than World War two.If we carry on with “Hatred ,Greedy and Madness”It will cause world war 3 one day.Every one will suffer from it.
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