An old friend of mine's 27 year old son is in the air force, and he loves going back for more. I know him from when he was a scrappy four year old---a blonde, blue eyed boy who couldn't wait to crawl back into bed with his mother; now, he's off working on aircraft when he isn't on campaigns, loves it, says he never saw combat, but combat is in his eyes.
The problem with Airmen Blake French is that they never lose the combat in their eyes, not even when they come home to Connecticut, not even when they sleep in the back alleys of our inner city.
The soldiers who return from Iraq and Afghanistan do not think of themselves as murderers any more than those who returned from Vietnam, Korea, or those who saw combat in World War II.
We must never dishonor the service of those who, with good conscience, are guided by the belief, rightly or wrongly, that they are acting in defense of their country, and/or their liberty. We must acknowledge, too, that it is often economic inequity, and lack of opportunity, that drive youngsters of color, and of limited means, to pursue military life as all too often it is their only hope for opportunities that are denied them in civilian life.
But, for the most part, they have bought everything Airmen French wrote, hook, line, and sinker. They are the victims of war, too, every bit as much as those who come back to us in body bags. We must condemn those who give the orders, more than those who carry them out.
It is the war machine that murders. We must never confuse the machine with its parts. And, in this election year, we have a "war hero" candidate who wants to roll back benefits made available to veterans under the G.I. Bill. Is this how to support our troops? Indeed, the ones who support John McCain are the ones who can least afford to do so.
We must say to Airman French, and others like him, put down your weapons, and come home. We need you to start defending freedom here.
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