Sunday, November 19, 2006

Bush and the war in Iraq

Browsing yahoo news tonight, I came across the perfect storm, a trifecta of headlines, if you will.

"Bush opens stock exchange in Vietnam"

"Kissinger: Iraq military win is impossible"

"McCain says more troops needed in Iraq"

Wow!

Which leads me to the headline of the day. "Bush reinvigorated abroad"

I must say...35 years ago...

Bush skipped Vietnam to drink with his Texas buddies and have a good ol time. Now, to avoid newly elected Democrats and facing a new Democratic storm in Washington, Bush heads to Vietnam. Alanis would be proud!

I am glad that Bush is reinvigorated. Perhaps on his way back to the White House, he will stop by the Vietnam Memorial and run his oily fingers across the names etched in granite.

Perhaps he will embrace a policy other than stay the course in the quagmire that has become Iraq. The names of 58,000 are etched in perpetuity in that memorial, they did not have the option of going abroad to be reinvigorated.

The 250,000+ Vietnam Veterans that have committed suicide in the decades after Vietnam did not have the option of being reinvigorated, in Vietnam nor when they came home.

The homeless veterans, from small towns across the United States, did not have the option of being reivigorated, they struggle day to day for survival.

The 2,800+ that have perished in Iraq and more than 25,000 that have been wounded surely are not reinvigorated either.

As a Veteran, the headline slapped me right in the face. On the campaign trail the past several months, I have met more and more veterans.

Reinvigorated?

After this blog post...u betcha!

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