2008 Woodie Awards
Editorial: U.S. soldiers deserve our support
Issue date: 3/26/08 Section: Editorial/Opinion
03/26/08 - On Monday, the United States suffered its 4,000th U.S. military casualty of the war in Iraq. The death came less than a week after the fifth anniversary of the war, a little more than a year after President George W. Bush announced a troop "surge" to quell rising violence and five years after the same president landed on an aircraft carrier to proclaim "mission accomplished."
Unfortunately for the president and the country, the mission in Iraq - whatever that is exactly - appears far from over. More than 156,000 U.S. troops remain in the dusty Middle East country that is struggling to build a semblance of government, never mind reach peace. Shiites and Sunnis appear no closer to agreeing today than they did five years ago when the statue of Saddam fell in a Baghdad square. The Kurds in the north lurk as the elephant in the room.
Despite the volatile atmosphere of Iraq, America's dedicated young men and women serve in the country 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. For these brave individuals escaping work for the weekend simply does not exist. The threat of IEDs, gunfire and even exhaustion hangs in the air almost as heavily as the sticky humidity and the blazing sun overhead.
In America it often takes a sad occasion such as a record death toll for Americans to recognize the sacrifice of those in the armed services. Unlike previous wars, Americans don't face military drafts, ration lines or severe shortages of basic supplies. For many Americans, the only material affect of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are increased waits at airport security.
But here at URI at least a dozen current or former students have served in Iraq. Those enrolled in the Reserve Officers' Training School will almost certainly be deployed to a war zone within their lifetime. The effects are very real for these young men and women and their families and friends.
The effects are also very tangible for the untold number of students whose fathers, brothers, cousins or best friends are deployed for months at a time in a foreign land.
It is far too easy to sit in the comfort of a dorm room and watch the carnage of war on television and say, "Well, our soldiers volunteered." But we must remember that they volunteered the ultimate sacrifice: their lives.
Unfortunately for the president and the country, the mission in Iraq - whatever that is exactly - appears far from over. More than 156,000 U.S. troops remain in the dusty Middle East country that is struggling to build a semblance of government, never mind reach peace. Shiites and Sunnis appear no closer to agreeing today than they did five years ago when the statue of Saddam fell in a Baghdad square. The Kurds in the north lurk as the elephant in the room.
Despite the volatile atmosphere of Iraq, America's dedicated young men and women serve in the country 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. For these brave individuals escaping work for the weekend simply does not exist. The threat of IEDs, gunfire and even exhaustion hangs in the air almost as heavily as the sticky humidity and the blazing sun overhead.
In America it often takes a sad occasion such as a record death toll for Americans to recognize the sacrifice of those in the armed services. Unlike previous wars, Americans don't face military drafts, ration lines or severe shortages of basic supplies. For many Americans, the only material affect of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are increased waits at airport security.
But here at URI at least a dozen current or former students have served in Iraq. Those enrolled in the Reserve Officers' Training School will almost certainly be deployed to a war zone within their lifetime. The effects are very real for these young men and women and their families and friends.
The effects are also very tangible for the untold number of students whose fathers, brothers, cousins or best friends are deployed for months at a time in a foreign land.
It is far too easy to sit in the comfort of a dorm room and watch the carnage of war on television and say, "Well, our soldiers volunteered." But we must remember that they volunteered the ultimate sacrifice: their lives.