July 06, 2006
Support our Troops
"The Stars and Stripes", the daily newspaper of the military, was given an exclusive interview with the President on July 4th, aboard Air Force One, in full mufti. (Does anyone remember Bill Clinton getting dressed up like this? Oh. I know, it must be the Fidel Castro look.)
The S&S thought our troops might have a couple of questions for their Commander in Chief. As always, a straight shooter, W. answered them honestly. Frankly, it was shocking. A summary:
. He's never been to a soldier's funeral -- on principle, of course. There are so many dead soldiers, how would he be able to pick and choose?
. When asked about special benefits for those who have served multiple tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan "He said he had already worked to increase military benefits but he had nothing specific in mind for troops who had deployed many times. 'I will work with Congress if people bring up good ideas,' he said. " How is it that this man can change the Constitution so breezily, and must rely on stingy old Congress to approve things like bonuses? Why, having a Congress to use this way is like having your police state, and eating it too.
. He couldn't guess how many times folks would be required to return to the war, but he could be fairly certain that the length of a tour of duty would not be reduced from a year to six months.
. Nope, can't pinpoint an end to this war -- completely depends on the ground situation.
But things are going very well in Iraq, so I'm sure this left the guys in an upbeat frame of mind. Wonder if I can get to the Letters to the Editor over at Stars and Stripes? Funny thing July 5 and 6 are missing.
Photo note: Hey wait a minute, all the stars are missing too.
Posted by Dakota at July 6, 2006 06:25 AM