3 minutes a year. That seems to be what I'm averaging on national television. It's impossible to say it all, but this morning, I gave it my best shot on MSNBC. They solicited my reaction to the troop withdrawal plan that the President will unveil this morning at Camp Lejeune. I got the call because my brother was killed in Iraq in 2004. I am thankful that MSNBC would ask the opinion of a military family.
However, what I'm more interested in now is soliciting your reactions.
Here is the video:
To sum, I was asked what I thought about the plan to withdrawal troops. I said I thought a timetable brings satisfaction to our efforts. She asked me if leaving "too soon" would negate the sacrifices to which I responded of course not. My brother did not die in vain--he upheld his end of the bargain and there is immense value in that. It's up to our politicians now to do their jobs. And finally, she asked if he was prepared to go to war and if he believed in his mission. I knew she meant 'prepared' in the emotional sense, but it struck me that he was not prepared, not even militarily. He did not have the proper equipment or training. And, of course, he did not want to leave his wife and son. I ended by saying that we are well served to never again commit our troops to a war based on lies.
The President is about to tell us that we will withdrawal most combat troops by 8/31/10. There's a lot of vagueness to that, and a footprint of 30,000-50,000 troops is likely. Throw in support personnel, and this number could be closer to 100,000. The SOFA calls for us to be out completely by the end of 2011, but that could be ammended between now and then (and in my opinion, it likely will).
My first reaction to this plan was that it looked like John McCain got what he wanted--an unending presence similar to what we have in South Korea. No suprise, Senator McCain was out front supporting this.
I want to leave the comments here open to the DKos community and see what your opinions are about the President's plan. For those who engaged in the anti-war efforts, do you feel a measure of success?
Finally, what do we do now? The anti-war movement does not have a coherent opinion on Afghanistan. I am extremely skeptical--I believe we are, again, trying to accomplish a mission on the cheap. The dynamics of Afghanistan are drastically different than Iraq.
To paraphrase FDR, it will be up to the people who got the President elected to hold him to his promises. A lot can happen and can change in 19 months. The US will take casualties, families will be forever torn by what has yet to transpire. It remains our duty to honor their sacrifices by ensuring the American public never forgets their service. The war is not over, not by a long shot. The vigils and other public displays of protest need to continue. This cannot become a forgotten effort, for then my brother would be truly dead. And we must continue to say in no uncertain terms that never again will we commit the bravest and noblest amongst us to a war based on lies.
With that, I will pass the mic....
