Support the Troops!

We find ourselves on the brink of war; a war that many Americans oppose. So the question becomes what is the proper attitude one should take if one opposes the war. One possibility, certainly endorsed by many conservatives commentators, is that once war begins (or even before) the only American thing to do is give unwavering loyalty to the President by keeping your mouth shut. Debra Saunders made the case that opposing the war is by its nature anti-America.

"If you oppose President Bush's Iraq policy, you're anti-Bush on Iraq. It follows then that if you strongly object to not only the Bush Iraq policy, but also the popular war on terrorism and maintaining U.S. troops in Afghanistan, and if you believe that the United States attacks other countries, not in self-defense, but as an act of hegemony, and if you believe the American people are the war on terrorism's willing dupes, sorry, but you're anti-American."

Ms. Saunders does make a lot out of a little. But perhaps she's right. Perhaps we need a group of people to sit in judgement and determine what American opinions are. Maybe you'd be ok, if you thought the American people were unwilling dupes. Or if you believed that the war in Afghanistan was justified, but not the war in Iraq.

I do love the idea expressed succinctly that we are invading Iraq out of self defense.

Another possible reaction to the war is to let it have no effect. Clay Evans, writing in the Boulder Daily Camera, supports this proposition. He states, " it's disingenuous to lay aside reasonable moral objections and "support the troops." One need not "support" the deaths of innocents simply because the government has started an unnecessary war." I don't know exactly what Mr. Evans means by the phrase "Support the Troops." In his essence he does state that he "would never treat with disrespect the men and women who defend us." But he's insistent the war movement not "Support the Troops." Does he hope that the US loses in Iraq? That we suffer large casualties? I also don't know what he means by the death of innocents. The far left for weeks has been making dire predictions over how the US will fight this war, suggesting that we will use a rain of cruise missiles on Baghdad or that we might use nuclear weapons on Saddam. Assuming you take all those predictions at face value I gather it will be pretty bloody. But I don't buy it. Our leadership knows that the rest of the world will be paying close attention to how we wage this war. If we inflict massive civilian causalities we will damage our credibility in the region for generations. So I gather most of the people who will die during the war will be the Iraqi National Guard. Certainly its sad, but it is part of war.

Truthfully I find Mr. Evans take on the situation rather despicable. Once troops are on the ground, I hope they succeed. I am an American, and while I certainly know that my country does things I wish it wouldn't, I still know what side I'm on.

So what is the proper response? As always somewhere in the middle. Don't make common cause with Saddam Hussein. He is a monster and he does oppress his people. But at the same time, don't stay silent about the unjustness of the men who brought this war to us.