Our Troops as Propaganda

As he has unfortunately been prone to do, the President used our troops as a convenient backdrop again yesterday. The obvious ploy, which seeks to create the impression that the men and women of the military wholeheartedly endorse his policies over the Democrats decried in his speeches, rings a little hollow considering they have no choice in the matter. Nevertheless, despite its shamelessness, it creates the impression he wants so it continues.

As reported yesterday:

"We should be able to agree that our troops deserve America's full support," Bush said at an outdoor ceremony on a massive field lined with members of the Army's 82nd Airborne Division. "And that means that the United States Congress needs to pass a responsible war funding bill that does not tie the hands of our commanders and gives our troops everything they need to complete and accomplish the mission."

…In his speech to troops, Bush defended his war policy and said that when it comes to deciding troop levels in Iraq, his message to commanders remains: "You will have all the troops, you will have all the resources you need to win."

Each time the President offers unlimited resources and manpower to those in Iraq, you have to wonder what the Afghans and the servicemembers fighting in Afghanistan think about that. It not only undermines what they are trying to accomplish but it cheapens their service by making their efforts (on the true front-lines of the war on terror) an afterthought. It’s time that the President finally provide all of our servicemembers, regardless of where they serve, with a policy that is more worthy of their sacrifice.