For the last year and a half, the pain in my gut screamed at my head write about this war, speak out against the war! But my aching heart said, "You can't undermine your son's confidence in what he is doing." Memories of people scorning and smearing Vietnam vets ran rampant through my mind. You see, my son, 1st Lt. Neil Anthony Santoriello Jr., was living his dream. He had fulfilled his dream of becoming a military officer. I thought he was fulfilling his destiny of being a man of purpose, compassion and justice working to make the world a better place.
Now my son is dead. How did he die? According to the Army, he was killed on Aug. 13 in western Iraq when an IED -- an "improvised explosive device" -- detonated near his vehicle. According to me, he was killed by the arrogance and ineptitude of George W. Bush aided by Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.
I hear people talk about how well-bred John Kerry and Bush were. What constitutes good breeding? What constitutes good character? My father taught me that when you make a mistake the first thing you do is own up to it and the second thing you do is fix it. Bush made mistakes. Did he own up to them right away? No, he waited until recently and admitted to miscalculations.
What Bush needed to do a year or more ago was to go to the United Nations with his hat in his hand and say, "We made a mistake. We thought we were doing the right thing, but now we have a mess that we can't handle. But now we are mired in a country that must be made stable; we don't have the right kind of troops on the ground to do the job right. You folks have the people and the Iraqi people will trust you. Will you help us fix this mistake?"
My son compulsively planned everything. For every Boy Scout outing, every ski trip, he was prepared for any eventuality.
This presidential administration ignored experts who told them that they could win the war, but winning the peace presented the challenge. Did they prepare for that? Of course not -- they were too arrogant to change their direction even as the insurgency increased.
Did our men and women in harm's way have what they needed? No.
Did we have enough tanks on the ground? No.
Could we supply parts as they were needed? No.
This Bush team could be on a poster for the old axiom: People don't plan to fail -- they fail to plan.
Their actions tarnished the reputation and honor of the United States. We are supposed to be better than other countries because we believe in individual rights.
[snip]
My son voted for Bush. If he were alive, would he be voting for him again? I am not sure. His wife and I avoided political discussions with him before and during his deployment. He would have never talked badly about the president, because you do not criticize your commander in chief.
But I sensed frustration in his letters. When he came home, I would have talked to him about it. I can't ask him now. Now I speak for him.
He worried about his men, his stateside friends set to deploy next month. I did not speak out against the war earlier and for this I am angry with myself. My son, a man of incredible honor, died from the actions of dishonorable men. I cannot bring him back. But I speak out now to protect the people still serving, to try to restore honor to our country.
More...
When you tuck your kids or grandkids into bed tonight, think of Lila Lipscomb and Diane Davis Santoriello and all the other mothers who did just what you're doing -- tucked their sons into bed and bandaged their skinned knees and tried to let their pride in their sons overcome their fears for their safety as they headed off to a war that George W. Bush said was about saving us from destruction.
And when you step into the voting booth on November 2nd, think about over 1000 other mothers in this country who will never see their sons (or daughters) again. Then ask yourself whether you feel one iota safer, one iota more certain that another attack won't happen in this country, because of their sacrifice. And if you think you feel safer, ask yourself if you're still afraid. Then ask yourself why.
(Thanks to Hoffmania for the link...)
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