If you can check yes to two of the following, consider yourself a hypocrite:
___I have a Support the Troops bumper sticker/emblem on my rear bumper.
___I voted for George W. Bush.
But I voted for George because I understood Republicans support the troops, you say. I have exploded this myth before, more than once, but you may have missed it.
The Department of Defense is supposed to be non-partisan, yet it's led by Republican Donald Rumsfeld, who supports George Bush and his neo-con cabal while failing to support the troops with basic equipment like body armor. A soldier's email, from Operation Truth:
They make level IV side armor, too, that we don't have. Of all the guys that have been shot and killed here, all have been through the side of the armor where there's no plate. That's where the snipers are aiming for, and hitting. my two guys who got hit by a sniper ... one went through the side (no plate) and he survived by the grace of god. The other moved at the last second and the bullet hit the plate right no its edge.
More and more soldiers are beginning to understand where this administration's priorities lie. From A Soldier's Thoughts:
Iraq is the new frontier of poor foreign policy and poor planning. Even the soldiers can see it. Why do you think nobody is re-enlisting? They don't want to keep leaving their families to go fight a loosing battle and to die for an empty promise. The promise that somehow staying in Iraq makes America safer.
What can the average citizen do, a parent, sibling, or spouse of a soldier asked to serve without the protection they'd receive if they worked as a cop on the streets? Perhaps you've already scrounged for funds to buy them body armor yourself, wondering why there wasn't funding in the 400 billion dollar defense budget to pay for that.
First, write to your congressman, senator, and editor, and ask them to support Senator Dodd's amendment, which seeks to force the Pentagon to reimburse soldiers for the body armor they buy privately (as Public Law 108-375 requires them to). Then ask your friends and family to do the same.
Then demand Rumsfeld's resignation. And while you're at it, demand George Bush's impeachment. Because last time I heard, the buck stops in the Oval Office. (With you, too: You broke it, you fix it.)
After that you may go get one of those magnetic ribbons and slap it on your bumper, knowing you are hypocrisy-free at last.
