Relatively wrong

Fredricksburg.com ^ | 12/10/2003 | Editoral

[armymarinemom]

Parents of military personnel in Iraq have made an ill-considered visit to that country.

Date published: 12/10/2003

Rate Iraq trip 'PM' for parental misguidance

THEY USED TO CALL IT "aiding and abetting the enemy." That means helping the people with whom your nation is at war. Then Jane Fonda appointed herself Conscience of America, was wined and dined in Hanoi, and made loose-cannon diplomacy stylish.

Now a group of wrong-headed family members of U.S. military personnel stationed in Iraq have made a trip to Baghdad. Their mission? To let Iraqis know that not all Americans support the U.S. military presence in their country, says the group's leader, Fernando Suarez del Solar. Mr. Suarez' son, Marine Lance Cpl. Jesus Suarez del Solar, 20, died in Iraq eight months ago. The grieving father has now made it his mission to lead the "peace effort" by vocally opposing U.S. policy.

Of course, his views have found a ready audience. Islamonline .net has published a message from him stating, in part, "Our young people are exposed to death every day. They are wounded in faraway lands merely for the whims and lies of President Bush."

The 10-member group that traveled with Mr. Suarez to Iraq included parents of military personnel and two wives of soldiers based at Fort Bragg. What all seem to have forgotten is that their loved ones volunteered for military service. In doing so, they took an oath of allegiance to defend the Constitution and to discharge their duties faithfully. Minimally, that means going wherever the military orders.

Another group, the Blue Star Mothers of America--who also have children in uniform--takes issue with the family members' journey, calling it "leftist-led." Noting that the trip was sponsored by Global Exchange and the International Occupation Watch Center, the Blue Star Mothers maintain that these organizations are anti-American and are exploiting the family members as a way to "undermine troop morale and defeat America in the War on Terror." The best way to bring the troops safely home, assert the Blue Star Mothers, is to fully support the Coalition mission.

Is there a place for dissent regarding U.S. policy in Iraq? Of course. America, a country to which the Mexican-born Mr. Suarez immigrated, places a high value on freedom of speech. But there is an appropriate way to protest one's nation's policies. Making a trip to Baghdad in the middle of ongoing hostilities is not it.

Date published: 12/10/2003

[armymarinemom]

I just spoke with Kristen. The families had a press conference this morning and made some really wild statements. News TF.

[Bob]

THEY USED TO CALL IT "aiding and abetting the enemy."

Some of us still do.

[thoughtomator]

If they go to Iraq with the aim of undermining our mission there, that is treason by even the strictest definition. Someone ought to make it clear to them that if they do this they will be greeted with federal agents on their return.

[boxerblues]

I'm surprised that their own kids didn't shoot them while they were there, I know for a fact mine would of. The best support you can give your kids is to stand back with your head held high and wear your pride on your sleeve and let him serve his country.

[Search4Truth]

How tragic to be an American fighting man and have your family support the enemy who is trying to kill you and destroy the American way of life that you are risking your life and limb to protect. It's just shameful.

Where is this insanity coming from? How is it that we as a nation have forgotten the fundamental truths of the world we live in - that there is evil in the world, always has been, always will be. And the only ones who stand between us and that evil are the good men who would destroy that evil on our behalf. They are the only ones who stand between us and the mass graves. It is better that we die fighting as free men, than to live the eternal shame of slaves.

Anyone, who not only does not know who their protectors are, but actively attempts to thwart the efforts of those protectors to protect them, is either a fool or has a death wish.

God bless and protect America's fighting men. We all owe them a debt of gratitude. Perhaps it is a profound lack of gratitude that this nation suffers from.

[cdrw]

They should be arrested and charged. Even within the US there are legal limitations on "free" speech. It is illegal to insight people to violence. Americans standing in Iraq preaching against their own government are doing exactly that.

We have gone very far astray in this country. That our culture can stand by and watch the attitudes of Hanoi Jane proliferate makes me fear that things will get much worse before they get better. Not in Iraq - but in our society's willingness to shun absolutely any definition of right and wrong.

Freepers - home school your kids.