Day: June 25, 2011

The Impending Crisis Among Young Veterans Of The Iraq And Afghanistan Wars

Ronald 1 Comment

America has sent our young men and women to war in Iraq and Afghanistan in the past decade, but now that many are returning home from their service, we are sadly not addressing the issues affecting them and their war service!

Not only are we NOT taking adequate care of them when they have physical and mental issues arising out of their war service, but also, and particularly among young veterans 18 to 24, we are NOT facing the reality that in the midst of the aftermath of the economic collapse of 2008, that an astounding THIRTY percent of them are unemployed, and some are homeless as well, and feel no connection to the society they have returned to after doing their duty to this country!

This is tragic, unforgivable, and dangerous for the long term, as these veterans, at least in theory, could be hurting emotionally and without assistance, they could some day strike out against the society that was very quick to send them to war, and yet looked the other way when they returned and expected proper respect and consideration!

It is time for politics to stop, and for job creation and assistance for veterans, younger and older, to commence on a large scale, as it is the right thing and the smart thing to do, at the same time!

The House GOP, Barack Obama, And Libya

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The House of Representatives, led by Speaker John Boehner, slapped President Obama in the face symbolically on Thursday by refusing to back the President’s intervention in Libya. Interesting, since we did not see the Republican House of Representatives refuse to back George W. Bush constantly in his interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan.

But then when one realizes that the Republican House failed to back Bill Clinton in his intervention in Kosovo in 1999, for the same reason to prevent a total massacre of civilians, one understands this is all about politics.

But it also divides the party nationally, as John McCain and Lindsey Graham see it as a sign of isolationism in the party, in their mind a dangerous trend.

Also, the House acted as a “paper tiger” when they went ahead and refused to cut funding for the war effort against Moammar Gaddafi, but then again, NEVER has the House refused to support a President’s intervention in financial terms.

So it comes down to the reality that the War Powers Act is an ineffective way to deal with foreign policy, and the President of the United States, whoever he is, remains the Commander in Chief, with final control over decisions on committing troops overseas!