http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/Weekly-Address-On-the-4th-of-July-Overcoming-Americas-Challenges/
Driving the Conversation:
"Never as a country have we asked so few to do so much for so long."* What must we do for our troops? Greg Dworkin, Contributing Editor, Daily Kos:
Our obligation is not just to our troops but to their families. Soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines need to know military families are looked after when they are gone and when they return. And I agree with the sentiment expressed elsewhere by my Arena colleagues: don’t forget about them, don’t abuse them, don’t send them in harm’s way unless absolutely necessary, don’t make them a partisan issue, and don’t fail to take care of them when they return. PS, when you send care packages, include some warm socks. Always relevant (I am told), even if not government issue.
Keep thinking about the troopsAs we celebrate another 4th of July, it is a good moment to take stock of the state of our wars-and of the men and women who are fighting them. To be sure, we have many other national problems, and many other national heroes, but our troops continue to act patriotically, selflessly, and bravely.We have recently reached the unfortunate milestone of 5,000 American troops killed since 9/11 in our two wars started since that date. (In addition, our allies continue to sacrifice more than some realize, with nearly 500 NATO troops and other foreign soldiers now having died in Afghanistan, on top of the 700+ Americans who have given the ultimate sacrifice there.) In addition are many other costs--not only mothers and fathers deployed away from their children, often more than once in the space of a few years, but even more tragic realities like the highest rates of military suicides at any time in the modern era, and a prevalence of mental health conditions like post-traumatic stress disorder.We are making great progress thanks to the sacrifices of our soldiers, sailors, Marines, airmen, and airwomen. Rates of violence in Iraq, though ticking up somewhat in June, remain 10 times less than before the surge--which must rank as one of the great American military accomplishments of all time, even though it required a great deal of help from Iraqis and some luck to succeed, and even if the verdict on Iraq is far from settled just yet. Afghanistan is a more difficult situation right now, but the United States in particular and NATO in general are focused on this war like never before. The U.S. troop buildup there announced by President Obama in March is nearing completion; it will likely take until 2010 to see major progress, and we will need to find ways to help the Afghans help themselves more effectively in the coming months through better training programs and other efforts. But our odds of at least a partial success are reasonably good. More...
As a nation we are compensating our troops reasonably well overall for their service, and providing them with a certain degree of comfort in the field (at least for those near large bases) as well as good equipment. We can take some pride in this, even if in some cases it took too long to make such things happen. But never as a country have we asked so few to do so much for so long. Previous wars involved drafts and a greater degree of overall societal commitment. As such, we have to keep trying to find better ways to take care of those who are not yet well enough served by our systems of military health care and compensation.Returning to mental health issues, one worthy new initiative is now being promoted by an organization known as Welcome Back Veterans. In conjunction with Major League Baseball, which will again honor veterans over the 4th of July weekend and ask players to wear special red hats with team logos in red, white and blue, that can later be sold to raise money for the cause. Focusing on PTSD specifically, the group has already raised several tens of millions of dollars to help military families that would otherwise "fall through the cracks" of the military health care, disability, and veterans systems. It is also encouraging private sector employers to look for opportunities to hire veterans reentering the workforce.A new initiative of Welcome Back Veterans, in collaboration with the University Hospitals of Weill Cornell in New York, Stanford, and the University of Michigan, now seeks to go further. These hospitals are putting more focus into PTSD. In addition, they will offer state of the art services to veterans who live close to their facilities--but sometimes far from VA hospitals or other military health care centers. Finally, and most innovatively perhaps, they will offer care to the families of veterans who are often themselves severely affected by the mental and physical and financial burdens of war, yet have nowhere to turn when they need help. (For more information you can visit: welcomebackveterans.org.)Let us hope that, by next 4th of July, the combined burden of our wars begins to lessen the toll on military personnel, veterans, and their families. But even if that happens, the consequences of our decade of fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan will stay with many families permanently. They need our help now, and they will continue to need it in the future. It is the very least we can do.
For starters, stop abusing them. Avoid committing them to unnecessary wars, which Iraq certainly was. O'Hanlon's description of the surge as "one of the great military accomplishments of all time" is a nice way of shifting attention away from issues of incomparably larger importance: the folly of the "global war on terror," the mind-boggling mismanagement of Operation Iraqi Freedom during its first three years, the lack of accountability at the top, the unwillingness of the politicians and pundits who promoted the war in the first place to acknowledge their errors. Any serious interest in the well-being of American soldiers is going to have to go a bit beyond major league baseball stars (have /any /of them ever served in a /real /uniform?) wearing red, white, and blue baseball caps on the 4th. What purports to honor the troops patronizes them.
By God they're Regulars!Our troops appreciate everything we do for them. But you know what? There is no price you can pay to buy courage and sacrifice like that and in the end they do it because it needs getting done not because of any reward or recognition. They are the best of us.
As one who spent the greater part of 2003 in Iraq as a senior advisor to the Coalition Provisional Authority, I witnessed first hand what our American and the coalition troops faced then and continue to face today. Many a dining table convesation, shared ride and general bull session gave me great empathy for what they were encountering both physically and mentally. One of the most poignant moments came when I was on a C-130 one time from Baghdad to Kuwait. More...
Aboard the cargo plane right in front of me was a body bag with a fallen soldier. It was draped with an American flag. At one point the plane hit turbulence and the flag slipped off the bag. I undid my safety harnesses, stumbled my way to the bag and replaced the flag, returning to my seat eyes watering with tears. Having said that freeing of 25 (m) million Iraqis isn't too shabby an accomplishment. And to summarize about Iraq, I recall an old Russian proverb: The future is bright. The past is unpredictable.
The best possible thing we can do for our troops, and the least we owe to them, is only to put them in harm’s way when absolutely necessary. Tragically we have failed in this, our most sacred responsibility, too often.
Securing the proper provisions for our troops is a tradition as old as our country itself. General George Washington spent nearly as much time petitioning the Continental Congress for proper equipment as he did battling the redcoats. After 220 years, we find ourselves fighting the same issues. In the field, soldiers deserve a budget that reflects America’s global leadership. The 50-year average for defense spending as a part of our GDP is over 5%. Right now, we barely spend over 3% of GDP on Defense, not including war funding. And we’re cutting missile defense programs; even as we prepare what missile defense we do have to protect us from North Korea. More...
Wouldn’t it be nice to start by at least funding the Pentagon at 4%, so our peacetime budgeting isn’t too peacetime considering the grave threats our nation faces today? Once these soldiers leave service, they of course deserve the best of the best. George Washington said: “The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional as to how they perceive the Veterans of earlier wars were treated and appreciated by their country.” Again, this holds true today. I’m reminded of the many photos we saw last year of Obama campaign headquarters decorated with Che Guevara flags and photos, and I wonder if maybe George Washington is the revolutionary leader they should really be honoring this July 4. His words are timeless.
I’m a Yankee Doodle Dandy. There’s no higher national responsibility than to honor and respect our nation’s soldiers, sailors and airmen. These men and women bear the heaviest burdens, far from home, without complaint. When they return, sometimes injured and hurt, our national responsibility is to fulfill the promise of Abraham Lincoln: “to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan.” So let’s admit: as a nation, we could do more and are falling short of Lincoln’s promise. More...
Veterans are having difficulty starting small businesses and returning to civilian life. Our government’s assistance is feeble and unworthy. We must do better. After all, whether young or old, black or white, Republican or Democrat—we’re all Yankee Doodles, and, to quote George M. Cohan, “real live nephews (and nieces) of Uncle Sam, born on the 4th of July.”
The 4th of July is a time for partisans to beat their swords into plowshares, (at least through the holiday weekend), and reflect upon something that we all can agree. We live in the best, most compassionate, and most generous nation that has ever inhabited the Earth. More...
Our principles and our people are our greatest resources. We live under freedom. We determine our own destiny. We have the greatest workers, military, scientists, doctors, teachers, and the list goes on and on.. We have always helped those around the world less fortunate or in need, even when is meant great sacrifice to our own people.
Another factor that makes us great, is the fact that America is a melting pot of cultures, religions and nationalities. You need not to be born in America to be an American. You may have come here at age 2 or 82 and you are still an citizen, with the same rights and privileges accorded any other.We must never lose sight of the fact that many great nations before us have failed. They did so because they lost their way. Their failure was due to the abandonment of principles and direction that had made them great. As a result, their societies deteriorated and they became part of history, no longer making it.For America to remain great and the beacon of hope for not only our own people, but for billions of people all over the World, we must never falter from that which makes us who we are as a nation. We must remain true to the spirit and intent of the Constitution. We must maintain the free market principles that have created our wealth and competitiveness. We must maintain a strong military, to insure not only our own safety but to use it as a stabilizing force to deter those who seek to do harm to our friends and allies. We must care for our people, but not in a way that creates dependency on government. We must also never cede our inventiveness, ingenuity and entrepreneurial spirit.When people ask me if I play the lottery, I tell them no. When you think about the odds of being born and then you think of the odds of being born in America as opposed to any other country, I tell people, I already won the lottery. I am an American!
http://www.politico.com/arena/
Comments are closed for this post.
