Army Ordering Injured Troops To Iraq

So this is what support means. Republican Legislators, the Bush Administration and their pundit lap-dogs continue to hound anyone who might dare to question the manner in which they are conducting the war in Iraq, let alone suggest that it is well past time to remove American forces from the quagmire that the Administration has created. The primary claim is that anyone suggesting the war is not going well is unpatriotic and is not supporting the troops.

Meanwhile this administration has created a horrible situation at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and throughout the Veterans Administration in their 'support' of not only troops but severely wounded ones, both physically and mentally, at that.

As if that alone did not fully demonstrate where the Administration stands in 'support' of the troops, on Sunday Salon.com reported on the doctoring of medical records as the Army orders injured troops to return to Iraq. 75 soldiers at Fort Benning, GA had their physical profiles downgraded without medical exams and are being returned to active duty in Iraq despite being physically unfit to do so. Many of these soldiers suffer from injuries that prevent them from wearing their protective gear. According to one of the soldiers these moves are being made in an effort to get more bodies into Iraq.

The 3,900-strong 3rd Brigade is now leaving for Iraq for a third time in a steady stream. In fact, some of the troops with medical conditions interviewed by Salon last week are already gone. Others are slated to fly out within a week, but are fighting against their chain of command, holding out hope that because of their ills they will ultimately not be forced to go. Jenkins, who is still in Georgia, thinks doctors are helping to send hurt soldiers like him to Iraq to make units going there appear to be at full strength. "This is about the numbers," he said flatly.

This is certainly not the only recent instance in which the Administration has put increased pressure on troops in an effort to meet the numbers for their new 'surge.' The AP has reported several times on the lack of properly rested and trained troops and on the continuing use of stop loss orders and the general extension of tours in Iraq.

If liberal thinkers and elected officials, both Democrat and Republican, who advocate the removal of US troops from Iraq are to be accused of failing to support the troops, what are we to make of the record of failure that the Administration and its supporters now have in service to American soldiers?

Such baseless claims from the Bush Administration should not be allowed to go unquestioned. The complete disregard for the well-being of American soldiers that has been shown by this Administration and its supporters should be reported alongside any of their claims that anti-war advocates are failing to support the troops.

If elected officials are to be accused of not supporting the troops when they talk of removing them from Iraq then the American military and the American public should also be attacked. In recent polls an increasing percentage of the military disaproves of President Bush's handling of the war and a majority of Americans favor bringing US soldiers home from Iraq.

So who really supports the troops?