Coming Home

If it all goes as planned, the troops now in Iraq will be coming home by the end of the year. It looks good, but, there could be a blip in the radar and some could stay. Let us hope for the best. Hope has been the key word since this war started in 2003... In the aftermath of the madness of September 11, there was a frenzy in the air for revenge. You remember it and so do I. Perhaps, you had a touch of it yourself. Let us bring these bastards that killed our fellow citizens to justice, somehow. We went into Afghanistan in October of 2001 and that seemed like the correct response. The Taliban held a stronghold there and Bin Laden and his henchmen were hiding there, so, lets go get them. The initial operation went as smoothly as expected and the government fell. Afterwords, it seemed the remaining question was how long to stay and prop up a new government. That is still an open question at the end of 2011..... All during 2002 we heard about Iraq and the connection to 9/11 and weapons of mass destruction. The weapons part was nothing new: Hussain had them for decades and used them on his own people and his enemies. Now, our government was saying we had to go in there and topple them to maintain stability in the Middle East [ an area that has never been stable throughout centuries]. It was the next step, we were told, in our ''War On Terror''. Perhaps, but, I remember thinking, ''Now? We still have the battle in Afghanistan to end, and, that is turning out bloodier than we planned.'' But, when we went in in March of 2003, I supported the action.... Well, we all know what happened in the following years. Like a stick poking a hornet's nest, all hell broke loose, with suicide bombers, terrorists destroying towns and people, and, our servicemen and women being killed. Every day, every month, seemed to bring fresh horror. The weapons of mass destruction scenario proved false, and, Iraq had no connection to 9/11. So, we were stuck there. We couldn't pull out without the whole damn thing coming apart. And, yet, staying there was intolerable. Thousands of brave miliatry people and countless innocent citizens were being killed or maimed. The years staggered by with grim news of no progress. Finally, in 2007, the surge seemed to tone down the violence and some peace seemed to have arisen. An agreement was reached at the end of 2008 between the Bush administration and the new Iraq government to pull out by the end of 2011.... That is where we are at. Now, comes the assessment of our time there. Was it worth it? Will the new government be democratic and maintain the peace and our financial interests in the area? Or, will the same violence return after we leave?... I am pessimistic, I must say. I think the violence will come back. I think thousands, perhaps, millions of people will be killed in the future. It just seems to be the way of life in that area. Fighting over land and religion goes hat in hand in that volatile region. I pray I am proven wrong, but, I fear I will be right... But, the immediate attention must be towards our returning vets and those who are already home. These brave men and women have seen the horror that forever alters a person's view of life. How they survive here is the duty and obligation of every American. We must find jobs for them. We must give them the health care they need. We must never forget what they have done for us... These are the feelings we all should believe, but, simple words do not always dissolve into action. After every war we have fought, this was the plan for the vets. But, as history as shown us, many appalling examples of neglect, and, just plain hostility, is the lot for many of the heroes. The government may refuse to pay for a operation to restore the ability to walk. The government may not find adequate housing for the vets family. The government may cut off benefits entirely and soon, the vet is homeless and on the street begging the people he or she protected for some loose change. We know this happens. We know the stories. And, WE MUST, FOR ONCE, TELL THESE SHYSTERS, WHO RUN OUR LIVES IN GOVERNMENT, TO TAKE CARE OF THESE VETERANS-- AND, ALL VETERANS OF BATTLE-- AND, NOT PULL THE SAME GOVERNMENT BULLSHIT THEY HAVE DONE FOR DECADES!!!... To do otherwise would be inhuman and not in the spirit that this country was built on. Lincoln called it ''The Better Angels Of Our Nature.'''... Whatever your thoughts on the Iraq war should not interfere in what we owe them. They will be applauded when they come home and, rightly so.... It would be even more American to remember them after they have been home....