"Just don't fuck our girlfriends"

This, from the online version of the Washington Post, this past Sunday:

"Seventy percent of people surveyed said that criticism of the war by Democratic senators hurts troop morale -- with 44 percent saying morale is hurt "a lot," according to a poll taken by RT Strategies. Even self-identified Democrats agree: 55 percent believe criticism hurts morale, while 21 percent say it helps morale."


Hmmmmmm. So, I'm a combat operator, trained and deployed in the middle east somewhere. I go through alternating bouts of mind-numbing boredom possibly punctuated by short stints of spectacular adrenal-fed rush. I know my rackmates better then I know anyone else in life... girlfriends, family members. I'm not getting any sex except what I can provide with my own hand in the latrine. I watch a lot of movies, and play a lot of playstation. When I hear that people back in the States are questioning the very reasons we are over here... does it have a "detrimental effect on my morale?" Is it "counterproductive and serves only the the insurgency?"

I think not. I think saying that about people who are criticizing the war certainly serves the agenda of the people in power; paint your critics with an evil a brush as possible. Machiavelli 101, and certainly something we've come to expect.

Of course, I'm not currently a combat operator "over there", but I know a few thigns about a few things, from my own experience, and since this hinted of bullshit, I talked to my buddy who just got back a few short months ago.

"Dude... when you were 'over there' ( he hates that term : ) doing your thing, and you guys caught wind on the news or whatever that there were people back in the states who were criticizing the reasons for war, did that mess with your morale?"

"Nnnnnno," was the easily given, definitive answer. They didn't give a shit what people back home thought, of course... they had -quite- enough of their own problems to worry about. Not that they didn't care, certainly, but it wasn't at all a source of damage to the morale, to know that people were asking questions, criticizing the war and all.

"Just don't fuck our girlfriends or wives," he quickly added. "If there's something that destroys morale and fucks with how we work over there quicker, I don't know what it is. Stop fucking our girlfriends while we're gone. And girls... stop fucking other people. it kills us."


Now -that- makes a lot more sense then such BS as "They hate our freedom" and "Your criticisms only serve to strengthen the enemy."


So... how about we become okay with the idea of criticism and critque, time to grow up and be adults. And how about we stop destroying the morale of our people over there by not effing up their personal lives in ways they can't act against, defend against?