Soldiers At War

An AJC report Sunday tells about another US soldier facing an Article 32 hearing to determine whether the Army will press further with murder charges.
Army Specialist Christopher Phillip Shore, 25 years old, is a native of Winder.

We recently went through another of these dog and pony shows. The soldiers were found innocent, as they should. The Army is too pushed to protect so-called civil rights of people who will, without a moment’s regret, kill or maim our sons, daughters, husbands and wives.

We are dealing with American men and women, volunteers bearing arms to protect and defend the character and traditions of the United States. As a nation we must not overlook the honest dedication these people believe and act upon daily. We are giving our servicemen mixed signals and that is the problem.

Shore was in the darkness of a desert nighttime raid, in blinding smoke and dust, knocking down doors, hunting for suspected insurgents. Not unlike those followers of the Religion of Peace who lobbed rockets into Camp Victory last week, killing two and wounding forty.

We must not under any circumstances allow disdain for US involvement, or for the US military, or for the missions being fought to cause theoretical posturing over foreign policy. We are long past questioning whether we ought to be involved. There is no question the US will remain invested in this region and elsewhere for many years.

I cannot condone the years of political diplomacy, pandering to both Congress and our own anti-war crowd. In the beginning W said the right thing: "with us or against us." Hesitance to push back - hard - against forces and ideologies that remain a threat to our people and our nation created confusion for citizens and soldiers alike.

The question properly put to the Congress and White House is, “What are you prepared to do now?”