http://www.nypost.com/seven/03252008/postopinion/opedcolumnists/abusing_americas_war_dead_103470.htmMarch 25, 2008 -- LAST Saturday, as the num ber of American fighting men and women killed in Iraq approached 4,000, my wife and I crawled through traffic in the DC suburbs - in the safety, prosperity and congestion that our troops guarantee with their lives.
Up ahead by a traffic light, an unkempt figure held up a hand-lettered sign. But as we inched forward, I realized this was no homeless person.
The man was scrawny and middle-aged, with mad-scientist hair and a wispy beard that proclaimed he had no wife to discipline him - but his clothing was clean (if sloppy). He just looked like one of those guys who nurse their coffee far too long at Starbucks on the weekends.
His sign said: SUPPORT TROOPS BRING HOME. Stingy with definite articles and punctuation, the poor devil seemed as if his cause had been chosen at random, as if he would have been equally distraught over UFO "coverups."
As we passed him by, I would've bet my life that I could tell you three facts about him: He'd never served in our military and didn't know anyone in uniform; he had nothing better to do on that lovely afternoon - and he was a Barack Obama supporter.
Since that lonely activist sighting, our war dead in Iraq reached the 4,000 mark after five full years of war. Historically, and given the scope of the conflict, the figure's remarkably low. Yet, as a former soldier, I know it's a foul against the families to argue either that our casualties are limited or exorbitant. For those who lose a loved one, that single casualty might as well be a million.
Soldiers die in war. They always will. They know that when they sign up or re-enlist. Nonetheless, our nation's leaders have the responsibility to employ our troops as wisely as possible and never to squander their lives for political ends.
As we reached the 4,000th service-member killed in action, I found myself disgusted with both the Bush administration and its irresponsible, cynical opponents. The slogan, "Support Our Troops, Bring Them Home," may be the most dishonest that ever intruded on American politics - but the war's original sponsors haven't rushed their own kids to the recruiting office, either.
With all-too-rare exceptions, our politicians, right or left, really don't give a damn about our troops. Polls matter, grunts don't.
Oh, the pols spout all sorts of rhetoric about how much they honor those in uniform, but they really only value our troops as tools of partisan policies or for photo ops.
