Conservatives must stop using the troops for political argument

In a futile effort to justify our continued occupation of Iraq, Bush and his small group of followers have tried in vain to connect Iraq to 9/11 and have called on Americans to support the troops by supporting his illegal and immoral war.

Like the Vietnam War, generals who disagree with political policy are fired and replaced by yes-men. Defense Secretary McNamara confessed decades too late that he knew in 1964 that the Vietnam War was a mistake, we had no strategic interests there and the North would eventually prevail. I believe the remaining generals in the Pentagon today, and many of the remaining politicians who support the war, know in their hearts that there can be no good outcome in Iraq.

It’s not the fault of the troops – and no one is blaming them. They have performed well and should be brought home now with honors. They have been put into an untenable situation by people with no sense of decency.

The politicians who really support the troops will vote to bring them home and vote to provide funds for their mental and physical care. Rep. Issa (R) is among the worst of those in Washington who continue to vote for the war, yet he has one of the worst records on voting for disabled veterans’ issues (according to the conservative group Disabled American Veterans, he has only a 29-percent record compared to Rep. Filner (D), who has a 94-percent record of support).

Further proof that we are fighting the wrong war in the wrong place was just reported in the Los Angeles Times. Of the nearly 20,000 prisoners the US is holding in Iraq, only a few hundred are foreign fighters, and half of those are from Saudi Arabia, home to almost all of the 9/11 hijackers. We should have finished the job in Afghanistan, sealed their borders and found Osama bin Laden, then confronted the Bush family friends in Saudi Arabia.

Instead, Bush went on an ideological crusade in Iraq, damaging our military, ruining our economy and turning the opinion of the world against America.

Jon Monday