Opposed the War / Support the Mission

In early 2003, I made no secret of my opposition to any military action against the regime of Saddam Hussein; there was neither a connection to the events of 9/11 nor any imminent threat against our nation from this thug. I emailed my Senators and Congressman explaining my lack of support but, with most Americans fully supporting military action, the Congress approved the “use of force” against Iraq. Congress knew this would essentially be a Declaration of War, but wanted to ensure their individual political viability remained in anything went wrong; a clear sign of a group of individuals, from both parties, with the primary desire to keep their personal power.
Once the decision was made and our troops were ordered into Iraq, I pledged to fully support the troops win this war and return home, with victory and honor. Because I believe this, many friends believe I am “pro-war.” Nothing could be further from the truth – I don’t know any career military person who is “pro-war” but we are all “pro-military.”
With a vote on the authorization to use force, Congress retained the ability to blame the President for his use of force if their expected result was not realized while simultaneously being able to claim political victory if victory was quick.
As patriotic Americans, it is our duty to support our military, including the Commander-in-Chief, to fulfill their military mission, especially when Congress declares war (or authorizes force). To do anything less, is to be un-American.
Our legislators, especially those who voted for the use of force, should have never considered vocalizing their opposition outside of their respective chambers. It is my opinion that some of our legislators have given moral support to both the Iraqi insurgency and al-Qa’ida by many public statements advocating our withdrawal from Iraq – even when we were doing well. If the anti-war politicians had only made their anti-war ‘rants’ in their respective legislative chambers, I believe the war would have been largely over in mid-2005 – and many young American heroes would still be alive; however, the political reality is that President Bush would have won the 2004 election by a much larger margin than he did.
In short, one can be ideologically opposed to military action but fully supportive of the troops once the decision to fight has been made. Unfortunately, we’ve too many people in our nation who believe supporting the troops means being “pro-war” or others who believe being “anti-war” means “anti-military.” Neither is true – I hope that many are coming to the realization that you can be opposed to war and fully support giving our troops the equipment, training, and supplies needed to finish the mission as quickly as possible.
One can be opposed to the war while fully support funding our military – these “anti-war” people are patriotic. Anyone who publicly advocates against providing our troops everything they need to finish the mission is not.