Talk The Talk

Are you a man or woman of eligible military service age? Do you currently support President George W. Bush’s decision to occupy Iraq? If you answered “yes” to both of these questions, then wouldn’t you want to serve your country in Iraq? As soon as you cast your vote for President Bush, shouldn’t you sign up for military service?

With continued questioning over our prolonged stay in the Middle East, the gulf between United States citizens who are for and against the war in Iraq grows larger each day. More than 1,000 soldiers and counting have already lost their lives while serving our country. That does not include the thousands of Iraqis who have died or the military personnel and civilians who have been wounded. On Friday, October 22, the New York Times reported that the resistance in Iraq numbers over 20,000 (this includes sympathizers, foreign fighters, the network of Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, and homegrown insurgents). The earlier reports from military intelligence estimated the insurgency between 2,000 and 7,000. Additionally, British aid worker, Margaret Hassan, who has done nothing more than deliver food and medicine to Iraqis for the past 30 years, begs for her life.

After our country was led into the Iraq War under less than truthful assumptions, it is now difficult to understand the exact nature of our occupancy. Essentially, we broke it, so we own it. If one has a strong argument for the positives of the Iraq War, why wouldn’t one want to help one’s country with military service? If you support a cause, shouldn’t you be willing to take part in that cause?

I hope that we can all agree that war is a method of action that ultimately should never be used, and going to war under false pretenses is inexcusable. It takes courage for a person to voluntarily put his or her life directly in the line of fire. When faced with the question of going to war, most people do not want to leave the comfort of their lavish American lifestyles. Under the circumstances of our country’s volunteer army, it is extremely easy to support the war and easy to let others do the heavy fighting.

The quagmire in Iraq is getting deeper. Support for our troops is unconditional, but if you think you know the real reasoning behind President Bush’s decision to invade Iraq (weapons of mass destruction were never found) and are in support of this decision, then I strongly encourage you to show your patriotism and serve your country in Iraq after you cast your vote for President Bush. If you are willing to talk the talk, then you should be willing to fight the fight. Do your country a favor, you who support the war: Be willing to replace a soldier who wants to return to his or her family. Enough talk. Your first step of action is visiting www.goarmy.com.