http://www.military.com/opinion/0,15202,98712,00.html

Remember the Cost of War
Paul Rieckhoff | May 26, 2006
As of this writing, 2,458 American men and women had died in Iraq, and 291 had died in Afghanistan. More than 18,000 have been wounded, and untold thousands suffer the psychological trauma that is one of war’s most devastating consequences.

How close are you to these costs of war? Chances are, you’re not close at all. Only one-third of one-percent of the American population has served in Iraq or Afghanistan. Compare that with previous wars. In Vietnam, more than four percent served. More than 16 million Americans served in World War II – 12 percent of the population.

Today, with no draft and a professional military, the American public is dangerously disconnected from the extraordinary sacrifices made by this nation’s military families. There are 130,000 Troops still stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan whose loved ones back home are consumed by the constant fear that a uniformed officer will come to the door, bearing the worst news. For nearly 3,000 families, that fear has already been realized.

But according to the headlines, the greatest fears facing non-military families are the drain at the gas pump or the dismissal of the latest American Idol contestant. When I got home after a year leading an infantry platoon in Baghdad, the number-one story in this country was Janet Jackson’s wardrobe malfunction. This did not look like a country at war, and two years later, as American casualties in Iraq continue unabated, it still does not.

It is up to all Americans to preserve and defend the legacy of those young men and women who will never come home from Iraq or Afghanistan. Will we honor them properly by engaging ourselves in a real, honest conversation about the current conflicts, and what needs to be sacrificed in order to achieve the best possible outcome? For three years we have neglected that conversation. As a consequence the military has been misused and a generation of new veterans face the same preventable problems that greeted Vietnam Veterans.

Our military policy in Iraq continues to be “business as usual,” because the American public has not put the weight of its voice and vote behind the demand for an alternative strategy. Poll after poll shows that Americans are overwhelmingly dissatisfied with our current course in Iraq, but in Washington that sentiment has only become fodder for more partisan bickering. When our troops go to war, they set aside partisanship and fulfill their duty. As Americans, we should follow that example.

On Memorial Day, to properly honor those who’ve made the ultimate sacrifice, every American should find a way to become part of the conversation about how we’ve gotten to this point in Iraq, what must come next, and how best to care for this newest generation of veterans. The stakes are too high to remain disengaged, as the evidence clearly shows.

Iraq is not nearly as far along as we were promised. What’s worse is that these three years of benign neglect by both the American public and our leadership in Washington has brought us to a place where many of the gains made in Iraq in 2003 are now being lost, and many of the Troops there feel they now serve as little more than canon fodder.

“This just 'we ride out, hold it for an hour, get hit, ride back in and now we don't hold it anymore,' what's the point?" said Army Sgt. 1st Class Ruble of the Army's 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, speaking to an Associated Press reporter last week in Ramadi. "I believe in the cause and I believe in doing good, but when we’re going out, getting hurt and ... not accomplishing anything, why are we going out there?”

It’s time to put the best minds (not just the most agreeable ones), all in the same room to hammer out a better policy for our engagement in Iraq. We as Americans should demand nothing less than that.

On the home front, we must give equal attention to the plight of this war’s young veterans. They return home to a Veterans Administration that is under funded by at least $3 billion, resulting in months of waiting for an appointment and an antiquated bureaucracy that loses everything from disability claims to personal information for 27 million veterans. Nearly $300 billion has been allocated for fighting the war in Iraq, but we can’t come up with the comparatively small amount that will ensure adequate care for our veterans. The VA staff is doing exceptional work with very limited resources. It’s time to untie their hands.

So this weekend, when you agonize over filling the tank for your drive to the beach, remember that there are nearly 3,000 families all across America for whom there is no grief left over to devote to the price of gas, or to any of the other minor tragedies that we, as comfortable Americans, obsess over each day. Most of us have not been touched too deeply by this war. To honor those who have, it’s time for us all to engage in a conversation about its future course and its consequences.

Copyright 2006 Paul Rieckhoff. All opinions expressed in this article are the author's and do not necessarily reflect those of Military.com.