Why We Wimp Out

From the Iowa City Press-Citizen:

Musack, like Sourivong before him, knew full well that he risked being assigned to a hot spot like Iraq or Afghanistan, but he determined that the work was noble and that the task needed to be done. Although his readiness to face that risk doesn't lessen the sting of his death, it should make us that much more thankful for the hundreds of thousands of U.S. soldiers and civilians who continue to serve our nation and who are dedicated to the idea of spreading democracy.

But another death so close to home also makes us again pause to consider the state of this nearly four-year war. Earlier this month, American voters participated in an election that has been called a referendum on the Bush Administration. In their votes to remove Republicans from control of the U.S. House and Senate, many voters named the mishandling of Iraq as one of their main complaints. Any joy taken in the departure of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, one of the key architects of Iraq policy, proved short-lived, however -- lasting only until news of the next causality.

As of Wednesday, the Department of Defense reported that 2,866 soldiers have died in Iraq since combat began. Musack is the 47th Iowan to die in Iraq or Afghanistan in that time. As important as it is to commend the sacrifice made by so many men and women, it's long past time for Congress and the Bush Administration to work together to find a way to bring all our soldiers home before any more are lost.

Some people hate the United States. Some people just hate the military. And others get all yellow bellied because they can't stand the fact that soldiers die during wars, while mopping up, and during the regular course of service. This is the latter.

It's sad that elitist newspaper types don't understand the role of the military, much less can't stomach the idea that soldiers die through the course of service and action. If America was full of lamers in 1944 like whoever wrote this editorial, we'd all be speaking German, Japanese, or Russian. Or we'd all be dead.