Wednesday, April 12, 2006
Rob Anderson reviews Cindy Sheehan's new book for The New Republic:
...To this group of authors, news of our military's difficulties is good news, for the United States and its military represent some of the most serious problems facing the world today. If the Pentagon, Albright, Perry, and Casey are to be believed, the military is in serious trouble. The authors admit this; Louis and Marti Hiken write, "The military is having a tough time meeting its recruitment goals. There are not enough troops available to send to Iraq." And a sentence later, here is the advice they offer young Americans: "The best advice we can give is not to join in the first place." Paul Rockwell argues that "[r]efusing to enlist is more than a career decision. It is a moral and political act, a contribution to the burgeoning, international movement for a better, more peaceful world." Not only that, but joining the military is unpatriotic, writes Rae Abileah of the antiwar women's group Code Pink: "[I]t takes more honor and courage to dedicate one's life to working for social change. Teachers, community organizers, activists, engineers, public defense attorneys, lobbyists, and artists are the true patriots." (The true patriots? Lobbyists?) The explicit argument is clear: No one should enlist in the military. Left unsaid is that if no one enlisted, America would have no military at all. Presumably, this is what the authors want...
...How does Sheehan propose America face its increasing national security threats? "We need to demand that our leaders use their words to solve problems. We need to demand that other nations use their words, too." It's a point that strikes at the heart of the book's fatal flaw--and at the fatal flaw with liberal anti-military sentiment: Sure, it'd be nice if we could "demand" that world leaders use words "to solve problems." But if the Sudanese government were so enthralled with diplomacy, would it be slowly obliterating an entire portion of its own population? And if the president of Iran valued words above all else, would he be so worried about building a nuclear arsenal?...
You don't have to be following the insane goings-on at UC Santa Cruz to know that the far-left hates the military -- though you should. See Michelle Malkin's posts here, here and finally here for a call to cut funding to the school for violating the Solomon Amendment. That's not an unreasonable request. Far from it. The insane mob-rule that appears to be going on there could not possibly happen without a complicit administration that refuses punish the organizers and participants. I remember years ago at BU during the Silber administration, some of the students were up in arms over some issue or another -- either divestment from South Africa or booze in the dorms, either is equally plausible -- and there was to be a march over to President Silber's home and a demonstration on site. [much more in the extended entry below]
A school administrator got up in front of the crowd and informed them in no uncertain terms that if there were any difficulties at the later march, the organizers would be held responsible and delt with in a most efficient and serious manner.
Somehow, the march never materialized.
In any case, despite the best efforts of Sheehan and the kiddies at UC Santa Cruz, according to the DoD, Recruiting, Retention Rates Remain High for 10th Straight Month:
...More than 13,000 people joined the active services during March alone, almost 5,400 of them in the Army, the service with the most members deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. Meanwhile, retention remains high among troops already serving who choose to re-enlist in the active as well as reserve force, Krenke said...
Here's something we can all do. Head on over to Families United for Our Troops and Their Mission and sign their letter. Gold Star Mother Diane Ibbotson writes:
But we knew that Forest believed in the mission. In fact, he signed up for active duty after the September 11, 2001 attacks because he wanted to defend our country from terrorists.
Tragically, Forest was killed on a volunteer mission - with Cindy Sheehan's son Casey - to set up a medical evacuation point for fellow soldiers wounded and trapped in an abandoned building.
I will never forget the day we received the news that Forest had given his life for his country.
Unlike Cindy Sheehan, however, my family determined that we would continue the fight against terror that our son gave his life for.
That is why we joined Families United for Our Troops and Their Mission.
As someone who has personally borne the costs of this war, we know the loss; we know the grief.
We just wish the media would give half as much attention to the accomplishments.
Please join my family in asking the national media to recognize Iraqi Liberation Week on April 9th through the 15th. Don't let them ignore this milestone!...
Listed below are links to blogs that reference this entry: Cindy Sheehan's Book, Sedition, and a way to Support the Troops.
TrackBack URL for this entry: http://www.solomonia.com/cgi-bin/mt4/mt-renamedtb.cgi/6055
The dichotomy between the misguided useful idiots and the disciplined protective warriors is glaring. The students storm a group of recruiters they know will not strike them back. The Warriors go willingly and bravely facing an enemy determined to ki... Read More
As a gay man, it infuriates me that many of the leftist activists "demonstrating" against military recruitment on campus have exploited the "don't ask don't tell" policy as a "rationale" for their hooliganism. In my opinion, this policy is both wrong and self-defeating (recall the recent firing of highly qualified military translators based solely on their sexual orientation.) However, I don't for a second believe that the radical left--which has no problem cozying up to rank homophobes as long as they're Muslims or Latin American Marxists--really gives a whit about the unfair treatment of homosexuals in the military. They're just using us in the hope of getting gay rights groups and well-intentioned liberals to join their grotesque crusade.
Too true. As well, and as was pointed out to me before, if they were sincere, they'd be better off leaving the local recruiter alone (who'd likely be happy to sign up a Martian if it would help his goal) and going and protesting to Congress which passed the law that dictates the policy.
Thanks for talking up Iraqi Liberation Week. The mission of Families United is important to all of us, as is the Mission our men and women in uniform are executing faithfully and well. Keep up the good work.
"We need to demand that our leaders use their words to solve problems. We need to demand that other nations use their words, too." I would like to see that happen too, but this isn't my daughter playing with her Barbies. In the real world, we have folks like Osama Bin Laden using 'words' to instigate bombings in Iraqi markets and schools and continue terrorist activities in the U.S. Like any other institution, the U.S. military has it's share of problems. But no one should decry our brave men and women who opt - despite the problems - to serve our country and ultimately, serve us. God bless all Gold Star families for their courage and sacrifice!
I totally agree. Supporting our troops and what they are doing over in Iraq is the least we can do, after all they sacrifice for us. We owe them our ultimate gratitude.
It is important to continuously evaluate every institution of our government in order to help improve those institutions, but I must say that abandoning the military because you disagree with some of the policies approved by Congress or implemented by leadership is not the solution. I think it is important that we all pay attention to what is going on in government and remain active as informed citizens in the process. Our military and our government need our support and our voice - not our rambling and contradicting criticisms.
Well said.