Taylor Marsh – TaylorMarsh.com – News, Opinion and Weblog on Progressive Politics

Another Insult for Our Soldiers

… Initial reports after his death said Tillman, 27, was shot and killed by Taliban forces during an ambush on April 22, 2004. An investigation later found that fellow soldiers shot Tillman, thinking he was part of an enemy force firing at them. Tillman's family demanded to know why his uniform and body armor were burned a day after he was killed and why they were not immediately told he might have been killed by fellow soldiers. His family was notified Friday about the investigation. …

Army
to open criminal probe of Tillman death

How much is one military family to endure?

How much does the collective U.S. military have to take?

First, the Tillman's had to find out their son died in battle.
Then they found out it wasn't as they were told. To then find out that it was
due to friendly fire, with the stench of cover-up and disgrace lumped on top
because the Army wouldn't tell the surviving family the truth.

Now there will finally be an investigation, after all this time,
two years come April 22nd, so it begins again for the Tillman's, God help them.

It's bad enough that Afghanistan is now a narco state, something
for which Pat Tillman did not bargain his life.

There are so many ways our soldiers have been used and abused
since Bush's “war on terror” began, but to put a soldier's family through
this goes beyond a credibility gap. It's bad faith to every soldier who serves.

If you cannot trust your country and its military to treat the
fallen with respect, which includes allowing the families to know for certain
how that death occurred, the broken faith just compounds the pain and loss of
the death. It's bad enough that our soldiers still believe they are fighting
for something that is wholly and completely false.

While 85% said the U.S. mission is mainly
“to retaliate for Saddam’s role in the 9-11 attacks,” 77%
said they also believe the main or a major reason for the war was “to
stop Saddam from protecting al Qaeda in Iraq.”
U.S.
Troops: Get Out of Iraq Within a Year

The bad faith of President Bush, his administration and the Republicans
who control Congress goes on and on.

Not counting the reasoning for war and rehashing that travesty,
the first dishonor was hiding the flag-draped coffins of the fallen.

There was sending troops into battle without the proper armor
or fitted Humvees.

There is the ad nauseam back-door draft, with 45% of the troops
on their 2nd rotation, 29% on their third tour or more, 26% on their first,
with no end in sight.

There is the plan to cut the deficit on the back of veterans'
health care.

There is the reality that 72% of U.S. troops want out of Iraq
in the next year.

One
in three Marines have “battle fatigue” or PTSD.

We haven't even gotten to the reality of the broken homes and
marriages, which matters if you really care about our soldiers.

Now, to top all the insults, we have, after almost 2 years of
suffering, wondering and playing the scenario out, a soldier's family finally
getting a investigation because their son might have been killed through criminal
negligence.

What more can we ask of our soldiers and their families? Have
they not given and given and given enough?

It's not about feeling sorry for these brave men and women who
choose what they're doing. It's keeping faith with them since they're laying
their lives on the line for us all. We owe them something more than a paycheck,
a flag and a “support the troops” bumper sticker.

We owe them a way out of Iraq. Or aren't we planning to leave?