A Message I think Veterans - and All Americans - Would be Interested In

• On Sunday afternoon, February 9th, 2003, my army reservist son received the call to report for duty on Tuesday morning. ??Despite my vehement objections to the upcoming Iraq invasion and pleas not to go, he said he had to go "because it's the right thing to do". With less than 48 hours notice, my son notified college, his employer, friends and family of his call to active duty. A hastily arranged going away party was put together by his friends. ??My son has missed his twin sister's graduation, being the best man at his best friend's wedding, birthdays, anniversaries, family reunions, parties, vacations...because it's the right thing to do. ??Unlike Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rove, Wolfowitz and Jeb Bush (and their children), my son would not spend the war at college - he became a war veteran...because it's the right thing to do. ?
• There are over 25 million honorably discharged veterans of the Armed Forces - including President Bush, even though he was AWOL from the Air Force national guard for over a year during the Vietnam war (and never saw action). ??Whether enlisted or drafted, these veterans answered the call to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States...because it's the right thing to do. ?
• Does the Bush Administration reward these veterans because it's the right thing to do? ??Since 1995, expenditures on veterans' medical claims has decreased by 36% per person. Over 500,000 veterans have pending claims for veteran's benefits - 20% of these claims are over one year old with no resolution. Since 1995, the number of veterans enrolled with the VA for medical care has more than doubled while the VA budget for medical care increased only 32% - this despite rising medical costs. To cut costs, Veterans Affairs secretary Principi is considering suspending enrollment of lower-priority veterans into the health-care system and capping the number of veterans who can enroll. President Bush cut health care benefits for war veterans...is this the right thing to do? ?
• What of our current veterans in the making? How are they being rewarded by the Bush Administration? ??My son is one of the 140,000 (including 60,000 reservists) still in Iraq. These troops have risked their lives non-stop 24/7 in temperatures as high as 130 degrees without air conditioning, life saving vests and adequate water in sub-standard dwellings. For months, they have been caught in biting sand storms, exposed to US shot ammo made from depleted uranium (causing chemical and radiation poisoning), not had a decent meal, slept in a bed nor the pleasurable experience of R&R. Despite the casualties (the administration said it would be quick and easy), broken promises to find WMD, Osama and Saddam, the attracting of Al Qaeda to Iraq and being forced into a police role for which they had no training, our troops persevered. They may have lost their conviction and no longer believed the Bush Administration, but they continued performing their missions...because it was the right thing to do. ??The one ray of hope these troops (particularly the reservists) and their families and friends back home had was the thought that they would soon be coming home. After all, President Bush called them heroes and surely he would see to it that they would be coming home as promised...because it's the right thing to do. ?
• In September, they learned that this was just another broken promise. Instead of the promised 6 month tour of duty, they would stay in Iraq for 12 months - in effect, doubling their chances of becoming a casualty of war. The troops - particularly reservists- and their families were and continue to be devastated...is this the right thing to do? The troops who spent the long, hot and dangerous summer in Iraq would not be attending welcome home parties and feasting during the holidays with family and friends. Christmas in the desert eating MRE's, canned or frozen food. Is this how President Bush rewards our heroes? Is this the right thing to do? To further demoralize these troops, the Bush Administration's announced a new policy that alerted reservists and active duty units to be ready to go to Iraq. But, the Administration is careful to point out that, these troops will get to spend the holidays at home and will be deployed after the holidays for 7 - not 12 - month tours. It is hoped that the situation in Iraq will be more stable by the time they begin their deployment and they will return to their families before the 2004 elections. ??7 versus 12 months. Why do the current troops in Iraq have to stay 12 months - including the holidays- when their replacements only have to serve 7 months and get to spend Christmas at home? Unlike the troops currently serving in Iraq, these replacements have plenty of notice to get their affairs in order and organize going away parties. Have the reservists currently serving in Iraq offended the administration in some way? Or because of the broken promises, increased casualties and lack of rotation does the Administration figure they won't win these votes anyway? Is this some type of sadistic pentagon experiment to see how much disappointment troops and their families can bear? Is the Administration trying to shift the blame for a troubled occupation from the White house to these troops? Is this the right thing to do? ??President Bush has given much lip service in the past praising our future and current veterans. He has saluted with words and insulted time after time by his actions: ?
• Trying to distance himself from the messy problem of flesh and blood soldiers with real names being seriously injured and dying every day, this President does not attend funerals of those KIA, visit the wounded or even acknowledge the sacrifices of our troops in Iraq....is this the right thing to do? ?
• He has not once visited the 1,700 seriously injured that crammed the Walter Reed hospital located a few blocks from the White House. He's never addressed the inhumane warehousing of soldiers in dilapidated barracks awaiting medical treatment at Fort Stewart and Fort Knox. Nothing is said to console the troops injured (various estimates range from 3,700 to over 9,000) or the families of over 395 troops killed in action...is this the right thing to do? ?
• The bodies of our dead sons and daughters are brought home in secrecy under cover of night to the air force base at Dover, Delaware. Families are not notified and representatives of the Administration don't bother to meet these fallen heroes as they come home. Like the grieving families and soldiers who have lost limbs, the coffins are hidden from public view....is this the right thing to do? ?
• The administration announced that on October 1, it wants to roll back monthly imminent-danger pay (from $225 to $150), family separation pay (from $250 to $100) for troops wounded in combat zones, and capping proposed raises for the lower ranks at 2% while raising the higher ranks an average of 4.1%. Is this the right thing to do? ?
• The President wants to cut 1.5 billion (16%) from the current 9.2 billion military construction budget. Representative Obey from Wisconsin proposed reducing the tax cut for the 200,000 Americans who earn over 1 million dollars a year. Reducing their tax break from $88,300 to $83,500 would restore 1 billion to the construction budget. The republican majority quickly shot the proposal down. Making progress on the huge backlog of work needed on crumbling military housing and other facilities is bleak. The dilapidated barracks at Fort Stewart and Fort Knox may continue to be ignored by this administration. Is this the right thing to do? ?
• In the midst of war, this President is seeking to cut key family benefits. They may close some of the 58 schools operating on military installations and are closing at least 19 commissaries - mostly in remote areas. While serving their country in Iraq, the troops can now worry about where their families are getting groceries and their children are attending school. Is this the right thing to do? ?
It is our veterans who fight and die to safeguard our freedom and democracy. It is the Bush Administration that seeks to limit our freedom and democracy with the "Patriot" Act.

Our Veterans earned and continue to earn the honor they receive from a grateful nation...because it's the right thing to do.

Our veterans - and all Americans - should remember the President's policies next Election Day...because it's the right thing to do.

Fred D'Amato
Mount Pocono, PA