Friday, April 06, 2007
Theirs is not to question why
Saddled with a disastrous failed policy in Iraq, Bush partisans are desperate to hide themselves and their president from criticism. A favorite tactic is to claim that any criticism of the futility of our position undermines the morale of our troops. I haven't heard anyone point out that this is an attack on the professionalism of the troops, so I will.
When President Bush ordered our troops into a manifestly illegal invasion, nobody questioned whether this was unfair to the troops. We all assumed that the troops would simply do what they were told to do. When the illegal war was also revealed to be unnecessary, because no WMD's were found, nobody felt a need to console the troops. We just assumed that they would continue doing what they had been ordered to do. Over three thousand of our soldiers lives later, I don't see why, as Congress tries to assign a stop date to the disaster, Bush partisans should suddenly implore us to consider how this might affect the supposedly fragile feelings of the troops. As I write this, President Bush is ordering thousands of them back early to join his doomed surge, without adequate time to rest and refit, and nobody seems troubled about how this may make them feel. We expect them to do what they are told. When Congress or the next President orders them home, I think we can expect them to obey.
The troops have rightly been regarded all along as instruments of policy, and expected to do their part to the best of their ability even when the policy appears flawed. Why the sudden change?
When President Bush ordered our troops into a manifestly illegal invasion, nobody questioned whether this was unfair to the troops. We all assumed that the troops would simply do what they were told to do. When the illegal war was also revealed to be unnecessary, because no WMD's were found, nobody felt a need to console the troops. We just assumed that they would continue doing what they had been ordered to do. Over three thousand of our soldiers lives later, I don't see why, as Congress tries to assign a stop date to the disaster, Bush partisans should suddenly implore us to consider how this might affect the supposedly fragile feelings of the troops. As I write this, President Bush is ordering thousands of them back early to join his doomed surge, without adequate time to rest and refit, and nobody seems troubled about how this may make them feel. We expect them to do what they are told. When Congress or the next President orders them home, I think we can expect them to obey.
The troops have rightly been regarded all along as instruments of policy, and expected to do their part to the best of their ability even when the policy appears flawed. Why the sudden change?
Labels: Iraq
¶ 5:34 PM
