Just Say It: “I Do Not Support the Troops”

Summary: Katie Couric wonders why George Bush is just barely getting around to telling us that the troops may be in Iraq for a long, long time. The truth is, President Bush did tell us early on that it would take a long time, Ms. Couric does not support the war, she does not support the troops, and she is part of a small but vociferous group of Americans who want America to fail in Iraq.

Katie Couric, a woman of indefatigable intelligence ☺, chastised President George W. Bush recently for just recently admitting that we would be in Iraq for a long time. I’m sorry to tell Ms. Couric that she has now made a mistake for the first time in her life, but George W. Bush and members of his administration announced even before the March 2003 invasion that we would likely be in Iraq for ten years or more.

Even if President Bush hadn’t announced his expectations for our stay here, any truly intelligent person would be able to intuit this. If one looks at history, it’s clear that transition to democracy is never easy. How long has it taken Russia and other former Soviet satellites to make this transition? Russia’s pendulum, after moving toward more liberty in the last 15 years, is now swinging back perilously close to tyranny once more. Ukraine and Belarus are definitely feeling growing pains as well. Some former Warsaw Pact nations are doing farely well, and others aren't.

How long did it take the European states, especially Germany to recover from the ravages of World War II? Several years.

Time aside, the implication behind Ms. Couric’s allegation is much more troubling. I can come to no other conclusion than that Ms. Couric and people like her are secretly hoping for American failure in Iraq.

Liberals possess varying levels of disingenuity. But the most heinous form of disingenuousness is represented by those who say “I support the troops, but I do not support the war.” This is usually followed by something like “We need to bring the troops home because too many troops are dying.” The first statement is hogwash, and the second is hypocritical and bordering on treasonous.

I will tell you why there are still US troops dying here. Because of disingenuous Americans who lie about supporting the troops but not the war. Either you support the war, or you support the Iraqi insurgency. It doesn’t matter what you say; it matters what is.

Insurgencies or other terrorist groups have traditionally given way to united enemy fronts. Unfortunately for the American military in Iraq, the terrorists do not see a united America.

Terrorists can read English. Terrorists can speak English. They read American newspapers. They watch American newscasts. And they know that some of the most outspoken (by no means a majority, however) of Americans want America to fail in Iraq, for whatever reason. Imagine what confidence that engenders in the insurgency to observe these (unfortunately) very influential people wishing for America to fail.

It would be best if Ms. Couric and her ilk would find a way to set aside their prejudices and truly support all of us in the American military here in Iraq by 'supporting the war'. Almost as good would be that they just shut their mouths all together. But since they won’t do either, it would do well for the majority (the rest) of us to realize that when they talk about not supporting the war, this means that they want America to lose in Iraq. So in its distilled form, they are saying that they “do not support the troops.”