Well, they’ve got their 1971

Sometimes it becomes necessary to state the obvious: being a soldier is a dangerous thing. . . . Even in peacetime. The media’s breathless tabulation of casualties in Iraq–now, over 1,800 deaths–is generally devoid of context. Here’s some context: between 1983 and 1996, 18,006 American military personnel died accidentally in the service of their country. That death rate of 1,286 per year exceeds the rate of combat deaths in Iraq by a ratio of nearly two to one.

– Powerline Blog

The Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., the current home of hundreds of wounded veterans from the war in Iraq, has been the target of weekly anti-war demonstrations since March. The protesters hold signs that read “Maimed for Lies” and “Enlist here and die for Halliburton.”
– CNS News Service

It took a while, but the left, the Democrats and the press, who have been pining away to relive the glory days of their Vietnam protests have finally managed, after two years of relentlessly negative press about the war, two years of relentlessly negative press about the President, two years of daily tabulations of dead soldiers, provided without context two years of nonsensical “we support the troops, but not the war,” gibberish and now, the Summer of Mrs. Sheehan (complete with hippies) they have finally reached the “taunting returning soldiers” point. Next we’ll hear that they are spitting on soldiers and calling them “babykillers” and then the template will be complete.

Except these people don’t even have the decency to taunt healthy soldiers. They’re going after the wounded.

Among the props used by the protesters are mock caskets, lined up on the sidewalk to represent the death toll in Iraq.

Code Pink Women for Peace, one of the groups backing anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan’s vigil outside President Bush’s ranch in Crawford Texas, organizes the protests at Walter Reed as well.

…
One anti-war protester, who would only identify himself as “Luke,” told Cybercast News Service that “the price of George Bush’s foreign policy can be seen right here at Walter Reed — young men who returned from Iraq with their bodies shattered after George Bush sent them to war for a lie.”

Luke accused President Bush of “exploiting American soldiers” while “oppressing the other nations of earth.” The president “has killed far too many people,” he added.

Hmmm…once again we get “Bush lied, people died” bumper-sticker thinking and bumper-sticker talk. “Bush lied” because he believed the exact same thing Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, Tom Daschle, Ted Kennedy, Madeline Albright and all the rest believed from1998 to 2002 when suddenly credible information was not merely mistaken but “a lie.”

And…that second line from “Luke,” the one about Bush “exploiting American soldiers while oppressing other nations of earth…” Where do we begin with such foolishness? I wonder if the people of Iraq, who are voting in elections and writing their constitution, feel “oppressed” by President Bush. I wonder if the people in Iran, who keep saying, “Us next, President Bush” are looking for his “oppression.” I wonder if the people marching in Lebanon and ousting the Syrians are feeling “oppressed” I wonder if the Georgians who danced with Bush in May are feeling “oppressed.” I guess all the soldiers who re-enlist (just like Casey Sheehan, for that matter) are naive and foolish, and they KNOW NOTHING about Iraq or their mission, or what is REALLY going on…because “Luke” and “Code Pink” know much, much better than they.

“Luke,” I’m sorry, but the only ones I see “exploiting the soldiers” are the ones creating Crawford drama for the cameras in Texas and DC Drama outside of a hospital, with caskets and signs, insulting the intelligence and the honor of these men and women. I see them exploiting noble servicemen and women for an idea that makes no sense at all: the surrender and defeat of America to cowardly insurgents who won’t even put on a uniform and fight, the utter waste of1800 lives whose deaths would be rendered meaningless should America “cut and run” and leave the Iraqis to fall into chaos and despiriting defeat.

You say you want the troops to come home because you care about them.

I am coming to believe that you only want to troops to come home because you hate this president, period. That your motivations begin and end with “we hate that bastard Bush.” That if this president had a D after his name, you wouldn’t even be thinking about any of this – you’d have your head buried in a videogame. Where WERE all of you people when troops were dying in Kosovo? Why aren’t these people pining for the return of our troops from the Baltics? I recall President Clinton saying those troops would be home by “Christmas…” although to be fair, he didn’ t specify what year.

There are plenty of ways to debate this war, but going after wounded troops is not one of them. Making utterly nonsensical statements is not one of them, either. Glorifying Mrs. Sheehan’s sad loss while refusing to report honestly about her is not the way to do it, either. Nor is, purposely misquoting the US Forces one has interviewed

Please read the whole CNS piece – read about how wounded soldiers who have to endure the site of this protest find themselves tortured because they feel “survivors guilt” that they survived when buddies died. Read about how one of the foundresses of this farce is a committed communist who recalled a trip to Castro’s Cuba as “dying and going to heaven.”

I’m noticing that none of the Democrat leadership are speaking out against all of this nonsense. They’d be smart to do so, but they won’t do it because – deep down – they’ve been longing for the return of 1971, too.

AJ Strata has a sane and more evenly-toned post than mine on this story.
Mark at Decision ’08 also has a good post, and Jason at Generation Why is writing. Baldilocks has more on how the American Legion is responding to this.

Meanwhile soldiers out for a night on the town were brutally beaten in Seattle. It seems to have been an utterly non-political situation, more about babes than battle, but here are pictures – the cops are asking for help in finding these fighters.