A word on the phrase ‘support our troops’

Many Americans say that we have to “support the troops.” No, we have to support and ensure that our government abides by good foreign and military policy.

While troops are courageously fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, the very act of their fighting does not make those wars correct.

I support those wars but I do so because of the reasons that underlay them, such as support for democracy in that region. When a policy has good reasons behind it, then one doesn’t need to appeal to the means behind it but instead the policy or objective itself.

The problem with saying one should support a war based on the troops is that it confuses the means with the end.

While they are heroic, we aren’t fighting in the Middle East for the troops but actual objectives, and if those objectives are not sound or insufficient for the resources we put into them, then we should no longer support that or those wars.

A second problem with the statement “support the troops” is that it tells the American people that in the case of certain policies that the First Amendment should not be applied and that democracy doesn’t really or shouldn’t apply in these cases. It gives the government and a few leaders a blank check to engage in any policy that they want.

So, I applaud conservatives when they opposed the war in Bosnia just like I applaud those who opposed the war in Iraq. I might not agree with their reasons but I stand behind their right to advocate their position.

I understand that this letter might be taken by some as that I am not a “real American” or that I am guilty of treason. President Teddy Roosevelt stated a century ago that one is not obligated to support what they find as an objectionable policy of their government or even the president. He stated, “To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”

He did not make an exception in the case of foreign nor military policy nor do I believe he would have. Mark Twain opposed the Spanish American war, was he un-American? Abe Lincoln opposed the Mexican American war, was he un-American?

We are a nation founded upon the principle of dissent and we should hold that principle in the highest regard.

Robert Snipes, Kokomo