[zipo]

>>that's honorable - sent off to die in a phony war for oil by a draft-dodging commander in chief, but still willing to uphold his vow to protect the country.<<

Whiskey, whether one agrees with the war or not, it wasn't a "phoney" war. The blood being spilled is real.

And the ideal - to depose sadaam and to transform Iraq into a working democracy that would serve as an example to other countries in the region was a noble one - and a big gamble.

The fact that the execution of the postwar plan was horribly botched by the civilians running the war is not the fault of the troops, who persevere under the most difficult conditions.

Yes, there have been scandals - prisoner abuse, massive theft and corruption by Bush administration connected contractors, diplomatic blunders, and unconscionable pollyanish spin by the administration attempting to whitewash and excuse their screw-ups.

But if you know anything about the culture of our military, the vast majority of those men and women serving and their military leadership are deserving of our respect and support.

Let's not confuse them with the civilian leadership who saddled them with this difficult and thankless job.