"I will follow him to the gates of hell"

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2007/05/he_will_die_and_the_gates_of_h.html

What action movie did this guy fall out of?

White men in suits standing at podiums sound ridiculous saying shit like this. And just when I thought I couldn't loose any more respect for McCain.

On a serious note, this type of thing is perpetuating the "24" version of the War on Terror that is dominating our military. The dean of West Point has actually had to go to the producers of "24" to ask them to change their depiction of torture because so many cadets don't think they need to follow the law. (http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/02/19/070219fa_fact_mayer?currentPage=3) Apparently people don't join the military anymore to serve their country or to better the world around them, but to play a part in a real life action movie.

Furthermore, this article (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18496711/) shows the disturbing mentality that pervades our current military is being manifested in the attitudes and actions of our soldiers. If we as a country are going to have an effective military that we are proud of, we need a military with quality people among its ranks, people who want to serve a higher calling and want to represent the best that this country stands for, not just wannabe action stars that eventually become cannon-fodder; such people need not apply. Soldiers with the attitudes present in the Newsweek article bring shame to the liberal democratic ideals that we are supposed to be promoting and to human decency.

However, that shame should be extended to the White House, Congress and the American people because of the awful ways in which our current military is treated, specifically the ridiculously long deployments. Have no doubt, our military is being stretched past it breaking point, and to try and fight wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and a larger global war on terror is to treat our troops and the military like disposable toys. Obviously the Bush Administration is to blame, but I think Congress and the American people have not done enough to work against these abuses.

Here's an idea: instead of sending Bush a war funding bill with time tables for withdrawal or attempts to withhold funding, how about a spending bill that limits the tours of duty of soldiers serving in Iraq and limits the redeployment of them? Furthermore, how about limiting what the President can do with reservists and National Guard troops? This type of bill would not "deprive the military of crucial funding" as has been claimed about the spending bill that Bush vetoed, but would instead limit what the president could do with the military while actually treating our soldiers like human beings and forcing Bush to be selective about what can be done with our troops, in essence limiting what would be considered success in Iraq. Just a thought.