Opinion
 

Politics won't bring soldiers home

by Lynn Meyer

The face of dead a soldier silently appeared across the television screen. He faded back into darkness, replaced by another. Men of 19, 20, 21 years -- men whose childhood was like mine are now dead on the cusp of adulthood. 

I was uncomfortable watching their portraits stream into my living room. It made me queasy and it made me question: Why are Americans still dying in Iraq?

Initially it was a matter of where the weapons of mass destruction were located. Their imminent threat to world security was the Bush administration and Britain's justification for invasion. A year later, there appears to be no sign of such weapons. Questions of faulty intelligence, rumors of a strange preoccupation with the Hussein regime and, of course, oil are replacing the hyper-patriotic buzz in the media. I have noticed the 2004 campaign has already replaced most war coverage. As more body bags come back from Iraq, the trade-off that all Americans should be concerned about becomes clear. We need a new objective in Iraq. It has morphed from a cause into an issue.

On the anniversary of the invasion, Dick Cheney gave a speech at the Reagan Library, that displayed examples of politicking overshadowing patriotism. Rather than emphasizing political reconstruction or pointing toward specific goals, that the administration plans accomplish, he traded clarity for general goals -- stating broadly that the war in Iraq is an "essential step in the war on terror." What does that mean to a mother waiting for her son to come home? Does she wait for the day that CNN broadcasts terrorists waving white flags before she can be sure her son is going to come home safe?

By not giving the soldiers' families steps in the political development of Iraq, that they can look towards, contributes to the problems of uncertainty. However, the administration cannot be accused of failure. Suggesting that they are playing politics with American lives is a weighty accusation, but I do not believe it is unfounded. In the same speech, Cheney mentioned presidential hopeful John Kerry's name 25 times and Osama bin Laden's name only once. I doubt even the staunchest republican would dare suggest that Kerry, a Vietnam veteran, is a greater threat to our success in the war on terror than bin Laden.

And then there is Halliburton. This is the same contracting company Dick Cheney headed prior to becoming vice president and from which he still receives a deferred compensation of up to $1 million a year, according to www.corpwatch.org. This is the same company that has allegedly overcharged taxpayers $16 million for services that have been described by the Pentagon as subpar. According to an NBC report, the Pentagon found "blood all over the floor," "dirty pans," "dirty salad bars" and "rotting meats and vegetables" in four of the military mess halls the company operates in Iraq. This is the same company that secured $8 billion of our tax dollars in 2003, and stands to profit from continued combat.

I would like nothing more to be surprised when I turn on the news tonight - to discover that the Bush administration has outlined its objectives in Iraq, and how they plan to accomplish their plans--without regard to the upcoming presidential race.

However, I expect to hear another uncomfortable report of our nation's actions overseas. And I still expect to see pictures of dead men my age. As queasy as these images and words make me feel, I won't change the channel. To give some direction to this mire, we need a change in leadership.

Meyer, a columnist for The Daily Cougar, 
can be reached at lilcopperpenny@yahoo.com.