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Disagreement Doesn't Hurt Our Troops
by David E. Meadows , 2005

ARTICLE ORIGINALLY APPEARED AT MILITARY.COM, November 18, 2005

Disagreeing with the administration neither disgraces nor hurts our fellow warriors who are in harm’s way. We have an inherent right to disagree with those who lead us into war. There are degrees of disagreement. The disagreement heard on the war in Iraq, for the most part, has been against the administration. We have yet to hear anything but strong support echoed across our nation for the troops who are fighting abroad.

Veterans usually fall in line with our government when the war drums beats and the dogs of war are loosed. We tend to trust our leaders. We want to trust them. It is our meddle to trust them because our character has been melded within the military infrastructure where integrity, trust, and supporting those who lead are common virtues. That fact about veterans is abused many times.

Currently, the administration is bombarding the right to dissent with the argument to do so sends the wrong message to our troops and encourages the enemy. There is twist where they accuse those who dissent with trying to rewrite the history that led us into the war in Iraq. And, they call this dissent irresponsible.

Agreeing with part of their argument, we can’t rewrite history. The Democrats did vote to go to war against Iraq. Most of us supported the idea. We did so because of the emotion of 9/11 and because of our belief and trust in our elected leaders presented by bogus information that Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) existed and Iraq had them. The words are wrong where they change to the familiar refrain that disagreement with the administration is a failure to support the troops and lends encouragement to the enemy. What those words try to do is take heat off mistakes by the administration.

We can respect those who lead us, but that does not mean following them blindly. Especially when in our hearts we know they’re wrong. We must be the voice of our active duty military. We have a responsibility to our brethren and sisters in arms to watch their ‘six.’ Disagreeing with a wrong and misguided policy is not diss’ing our troops and it is not supporting the enemy. It is an exercise in an American freedom protected by veterans throughout our history, where everyone may express their opinion; argue their position; and, most importantly, ensure those who crave the power they would abuse do not corrupt this freedom.

It is important for us to raise our voice of conscience when the war drums rattle because the vast majority of elected officials have no experience in war; never have served; or lead without ever experiencing the horrors of war. We should do what we can to ensure our forces receive the support needed to win and exit. We should also ensure there is a true national security reason for deploying them.

We started the war in Iraq to stop the spread of WMD. When we discovered what the UN inspection teams were discovering that there was no WMD; the rationale for the war changed to removing Saddam and freeing the Iraqi people. Then, it morphed into spreading democracy across the Middle East. Today, the rationale is that Iraq is the front line on the Global War on Terrorism and we have no choice but to win.

I wonder how it became the front lines? And, I wonder if there will be more or less terrorists when we achieve our mission? Which brings up the question as to what is the mission and how do we know we’ve achieved it?

The President is right about us having to remain in Iraq until we finish the mission. It is unfortunate that we started down this road in Iraq, but we have little choice in what we have to do and it requires support. The one element of truth is we have to win. To leave Iraq without a clear-cut victory sends a message to every terrorist, every future adversary, and every nation that America is weak. That we lack stamina and determination to face a determined foe. Such a message would only send more of America’s youth into poppy fields and even further damage America’s global influence.

David E. Meadows / SixthFleet.Com David E. Meadows Washington D.C. E-Mail readermail@SixthFleet.Com