Shuck Bush

20 May 2008

The Iraq and Afghanistan wars have taken a terrible toll on our military. The soldiers and their equipment are are worn out. The repeated deployments are also taking a toll on families. We are between a rock and hard place if we are faced with any future threats. The next president faces a real challenge. First and foremost we need to exit Iraq. Leaving Afghanistan without defeating Al Qaeda and invading Iraq has made the world more dangerous. No wonder the U.S.’s reputation in the world is down the toilet. Maintaining an all-volunteer army is already having problems, making it necessary to lower recruiting standards.

Iran looking for nuclear power, China growing in the world and Russia becoming more assertive plus a lot of unstable countries, some already with nuclear arms, are a real threat. Our military needs rebuilding as soon as possible. What does it take, well for one thing, money, lots of it and someone who can take the bull by the horns and provide the impetus to get things going. That someone must be strong enough to challenge the Pentagon and drop expensive programs that do not meet today’s or tomorrow’s needs.

The National Guard, whose job it is to protect the homeland and respond to disasters, is lacking a large percent of its equipment because it’s overseas. It is estimated that it could take $240 billion to replace war-damaged equipment. The next president, cannot afford a prolonged policy review and needs to change the Pentagon’s direction. The country needs, to hear the candidates consider and debate these difficult issues. We also need to be able to take care of our soldiers when they return home broken. 300,000 men and women have returned home with PTSD and only half have sought mental health treatment because of the stigma attached. Many are left open to depression and suicide. The figure of 300,000 are only those with PTSD not even counting the ones that return without limbs or brain damaged. We need to do the right thing for those who fought for their country in this misguided war.

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