Veterans Group Says Iraq Debate Important

As many of us know, right wing Republicans don't have much integrity these days. The United States is the most powerful country in the world and we are the one who launched a war against Iraq, a war we did not need, but Bush and Cheney are still engaging in fear mongering. Then, there the right wing nonsense that debate on Iraq hurts our troops. This too is nonsense. We have a war that should never have been pursued in the first place and we have a president who is oblivious to the damage he is doing to our foreign policy or even the opportunities to undo the damage he has done.

Raw Story has a post on a veterans groups that reminds us of what it is our soldiers fight for:

Paul Rieckhoff, the president of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), appeared as a guest on MSNBC's Countdown program on Wednesday, Feb. 14. The former infantry platoon leader in Iraq from 2003 to 2004 explained that debate about the war doesn't hurt the troops. Such arguments, claimed Rieckhoff, are simply "political shields."

"The reason guys like me join the military is to preserve that free right to have a real dissent and a real debate about the most important issue facing our country," said Reickhoff. "That is why we joined the military. It‘s why we take up arms, to defend exactly that type of right. So I think [saying criticism of the war demoralizes the troops] is a really dangerous road to go down when it comes to the political dialogue."

It's time to bring President Bush's foreign policy under control before he does more harm. The issue is as simple and fundamental as just that. Let the debate in Congress begin in earnest and in seriousness with the usual games and obstructionism from Republicans.