Ledger

Issue date: 4/17/03 Section: Opinion

The first two days of the war I was absolutely glued to the television screen watching CNN. Images of troops carrying 60-150 pound packs were running through sand storms and braving the unexpected in the desert while I sat at home.

The fact of the matter is whether we agree or disagree with the war, these men are there in the desert while we are here. We do not see the atrocities that they see, we do not fight for people we do not know, and most of us can’t even begin to imagine what it is like to see friends die, and not on a television screen. I may not agree with the ways in which we started this war, and I may not support all of the decisions of George Bush, but I do support the troops.

Just last week an American tank with the help of the Iraqi people pulled down a statue of Saddam. While they jumped up and down on the statue I thought, well if there are some Americans that don’t support the troops, that sucks. Because they can never know the joy of the people of Iraq who were dancing in the streets when the statue of their oppressor was pulled down. The Iraqis knew that their family might have food next week because we went over there and helped them out.

No doubt, it would be nice if we could do that for every country, but people opposed to the war might think us going to Iraq is none of our business. It might not be, but instead of being here in a university we could be strapped to a hospital bed over a five-week period, choking on mustard gas while it strips the mucous membrane off our bronchial tubes.

I asked some of the students at the pro-troop rally why they thought it was important to support the troops and got a response out of Veteran E-5 Submarine Sonar Technician Scott Juergens who said, “I believe this is a just war, fought so we can study at this university. The troops stand for everything moral in this world.”

I agree with him in the sense that the war is fought so we can be here studying and we’re not frantically trying to duct tape tarp to our vents and windows. But is it a just war? What country are we trying to save? If it be ours, well, that’s a given. If it be Iraq, why are we killing innocent people to get to one man?

Our troops have voluntarily enlisted in the United States military and do not have the opportunity to ask those questions. They enlist because the military is not only a way to serve their country but to protect their families, earn an income and develop a career. War is the chance they take and life is the sacrifice. After the Vietnam War, troops were treated like dirt and practically cast out by society. Some soldiers were even spit on when they left the military bases.

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