dear oldvirginian,
I would frame your question:
“what do a few dead Marines matter”
They matter to all of us. Now, as a juxtaposition, if the still living and still capable parent of one of those Marines, were to exact his measure of recompense, at that future moment of time directly towards this Mabus fellow, in office or not, do You think that would matter, and do You think that that action would result in enough satisfaction, for that father’s grief?
Certainly they matter to us.
I lost a very good friend when the Marines were murdered in Beirut, Lebanon, 1983.
I was there to see his ailing father look at a casket tagged “remains not for viewing”.
Yes, each Marine and soldier is special to me.
Our elected leaders however have no regrets about the life or death of individuals.
To them, service members are pawns to be used and discarded when need be.
I think political leaders should be held responsible for the lives of every service member that serves during their terms in office.
Grieving family members, and friends, try to put the pieces back together even though a key piece of the puzzle of their lives is missing.
Politicians go on to the next deal, the next election.
Nothing changes for them.