For the Troops

Now that the diplomatic window on Iraq is “closed,” it is incumbent upon the American public to put politics aside and remember who it is that stands on the front line in the war against terrorists and the states that harbor and support them – our troops. To think positive thoughts and to say a prayer, of course, but also to take more practical steps to let soldiers know that the public appreciates them, worries about them and is proud of them.

Now that the diplomatic window on Iraq is “closed,” it is incumbent upon the American public to put politics aside and remember who it is that stands on the front line in the war against terrorists and the states that harbor and support them – our troops. To think positive thoughts and to say a prayer, of course, but also to take more practical steps to let soldiers know that the public appreciates them, worries about them and is proud of them.

In ancient wars – WWII, Korea and even Vietnam – soldiers and their families and supporters were separated by the limited means of communication available to them. A trail of letters might arrive at home, sent by a soldier who had been killed in the interim. Or letters would fail to arrive and families could have no sense of where, and how, their loved ones were.

Beginning with the Gulf War, and through deployments in Haiti, Bosnia and Kosovo, soldiers could have (at least limited) Internet access and real time communication with their families. One JINSA staff member recalls her 14-year-old daughter up in the middle of the night “IM-ing” (Instant Messaging) with her sister, an Army peacekeeper in Bosnia. That soldier is now in Kuwait, calling the family’s cell phone with the calling card she remembered to bring, and e-mailing requests for Girl Scout cookies and socks.

If you don’t have a particular soldier to think about, pray for or write to,please consider logging onto http://defendamerica.mil/, the Department of Defense website with news about the war. You can link to a “thank you”message for the troops. You can also go to OperationDearAbby.net or http://anyservicemember.navy.mil/ that allows you to send messages “to any service member.” There is even a List serve for families of Jewish military personnel sponsored by the United Synagogue for Conservative Judaism.TheBrave@USCJ is available by sending an e-mail to listserve@uscj.org (leave the subject line blank).

But communication works both ways – as we are able to talk to our soldiers, our soldiers watch CNN and receive e-mail. They can see politicians and self-important entertainers who use their celebrity to demand attention as they demean our country or the President. And at least one soldier complained about receiving anonymous “pop up” messages from the anti-war crowd. The right to be critical of American policy remains intact in wartime, but particularly in wartime, we hope that it would be tempered by consideration of the wisdom of exercising it, and the affect it will have on those in the field.