Mere Words

Vice President Dick Cheney keeps putting his foot in his mouth at every opportunity. Yesterday, he was a interviewed by Martha Raddatz of ABC News on the grim milestone of 4,000 U.S. deaths in Iraq.

Q Mr. Vice President, I want to start with the milestone today of 4,000 dead in Iraq, Americans, and just what effect you think that has on the country. Your thoughts on that?

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Well, it obviously brings home, I think for a lot of people, the cost that’s involved in the global war on terror in Iraq and Afghanistan. It places a special burden, obviously, on the families. We recognize, I think — it’s a reminder of the extent to which we’re blessed with families who have sacrificed as they have. The President carries the biggest burden, obviously; he’s the one who has to make the decision to commit young Americans. But we are fortunate to have the group of men and women, the all-volunteer force, who voluntarily put on the uniform and go in harm’s way for the rest of us. You wish nobody ever lost their life, but unfortunately it’s one of those things that go with living in the world we live in. Sometimes you have to commit military force, and when you do, there are casualties.

So, what Cheney says is that it that the troop deaths are hard on families, but even harder on the President. I think that sentiment is appalling… To speak of the pain families feel when losing a loved one on the other side of the world in war, the daily pain and hardship of dealing with that loss, then say that the President has it harder? This is the same President Bush who has never served in active duty, has never had to say goodbye to a loved one who may not come back, or felt the pain of telling a child that their daddy isn’t coming home.

I think if our leaders truly understood the burden that military families bear, they wouldn’t speak so lightly of their burdens. They would be less likely to send our troops into a war that should never have been waged.