There are no people more praised and abused than the men and women in our military. We pretend to be shocked by the consequences of our actions even though death and horror were an absolute certainty right from the start. The common meme is 'support the troops' where the reality is we do not, nor will we as a nation.
Its a harsh phrase I know, but the truth is often brutal.
I argue against the Iraq war and the Afghan campaign continually based on geopolitical and moral grounds, and I am often told it is now an absolute necessity to 'win' them for our own security. The other argument is we must fix what we broke.
Then again these reflex phrases are easy to say when you do not carry the burden of responsibility in carrying out nor bearing the direct consequences of this policy.
Our military is not designed for occupation, and rightly so since as a nation that goes against our founding principles.
Therefore:
If you believe in these wars are of national necessity and supporting the troops fundamental, then I am afraid its well past time to bring back conscription, since true support comes from sharing the burden.
[Please read after the break; I will not reply to "I read until I got to 'xxxx' and then had a hissy fit".]
