When Petraeus Testifies, Remember This
From Esquire, the story of one soldier in Iraq, his family, his friends, his town, his comrades, his service, and his final homecoming:
Now they moved out, led by Sergeant Montgomery, outside the walls and down the road. The boys behind him, especially Ross and Gilliland, ribbed Monty all the time about his age. Only in the Army could a twenty-nine-year-old man be called Gramps, Father Time, Skeletor. But it was good-natured ribbing, because those boys loved him. They loved him because he was first in that line, and if he was scared — and he was almost certainly scared — he never let them see it. He told his family back home that he was scared only of the big camel spiders that scurried behind the men, keeping in their shadows for the extra degree of cool. He tried to ignore the sound of their chase, his boots crunching on the gravel, spitting out juice from his dip.
When Petraeus testifies about how effective the Surge has been, remember Sgt. Montgomery and his family, his friends, his buddies, his children, and ask on his behalf how our presence in Iraq has made any of us safer?
When Petraeus testifies about the necessity of keeping troops at maximum levels with no rotations home, remember Sgt. Montgomery and ask on his behalf why it is that he thinks the military can broker a political solution?
When McCain congratulates Petraeus on the resounding success of the surge in Iraq and affirms your “stay the course” strategy, remember Sgt. Montgomery and ask on his behalf how many lives will be lost before they consider it “victory”.
Watch. Tivo. Turn in CSpan. Don’t accept Faux News soundbites or CNN spin. Turn it on and watch it for yourself. And then lift your voice and your vote to end this stupid, Bush-birthed unnecessary slaughter of our young people in Iraq because your son or daughter’s life depends on it, your neighbor’s son or daughter’s life depends on it, your sister or your brother’s son or daughter’s life depends on it, as do we all.
Wars are not always bad, but dumb wars are. This was a dumb war, intended to line the pockets of oil companies and military suppliers. It’s time to end it. Before we’re counting 5,000 US Soldiers dead. Before we’re so morally and financially bankrupt we can’t help the ones who come home.
Watch him. Listen. Question. Write.
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