The other day, Republican members of the House Appropriations Committee unanimously opposed requiring that the troops sent to Iraq be properly prepared for their mission and protected with armor. As they've done often before, and as they will undoubtedly do again.
Over at Daily Kos, one of the diarists has come up with a name for the Representatives who send troops into harm's way without adequate equipment, training or rest.
He calls them “troop-killers”.
Harsh? You bet. Justified? Yes. It has come to that. There really is no 'nice' name for people from a country as rich as ours who send other people's children, spouses, and parents into combat without basic necessities like body armor, armor for their vehicles, or the weapons they trained with. I recognize that there might be conflicts — like World War II — in which the Army would have to suspend its rotation policies and send units that have served a tour of duty back into theater without the year's rest, rehab and equipment refit that our doctrine says is needed. But I don't accept that Iraq, a war of (erroneous) choice, is a conflict on which national survival depends.
Three of these troop-killers represent districts in Florida:
- Ander Crenshaw, 4th District in Jacksonville;
- Dave Weldon, 15th District – Melbourne & Vero Beach;
- C.W. “Bill” Young, 10th District – Pinellas County.
If you happen to be reading this from their neighborhood, why not give them a (polite) call and tell them what you think of this sort of behavior.
For years Congressman C W “Bill” Young has made a show of visiting the VA Medical Center at Bay Pines, FL and the defense industry installations he helped bring to Pinellas County. For the past two years St Pete For Peace and Veterans For Peace have delivered letters and petitions to Congressman Young’s office in St Petersburg. We always receive a polite reply and he is known for his staff responses to each and every letter writer or emailer. We now see the real “Bill” Young. He stops his famous visits to Walter Reed because of what he and his wife see but doesn’t want to rock the boat by embarrassing the Army. It’s not the troops who put their lives on the line but the military brass who really have his loyalty. Perhaps in future we should address our missives to Rep C W “Troop-Killer” Young. Are there nothing but hypocrites in the Republican Party? These are really mean-spirited, selfish people. Power and the dollar almighty above all else.
Weldon used to be my Representative until the gerrymandering gave me Tom Feeney. He’s no better, and also should be labeled as a Troop Killer. Feeney voted no.