Support our troops

I stumbled on a blog post that I really want to recommend. It's called Lions Led by Donkeys, the title being an allusion to World War I. It's an analysis of the current term "chickenhawk" to refer to those who are happy to send others to fight but refuse to go themselves. The posting also goes into what our responsibility is to those we send to war. Here's what we need to say to the young men and women we put in harm's way:

We will make sure you have the equipment you need.

We will make sure have a clearly defined mission.

We will make sure that such missions are as well-planned as possible.

We will take care of your families while you are gone.

We will take care of you when you come home.

That's what "support our troops" really means. As it is, our government is not supporting our troops. And that's shameful.