Military families want troops home: Letter to the editor of the Davis Enterprise from MFSO member Laurie Loving

March 21st, 2007

The following is an excerpt from a letter to Rep. Mike Thompson, D-Napa. For the complete version, e-mail mfsocap@dcn.org:

 Twice now I have been subjected to a rude, patronizing scolding from you. While I respect your Vietnam service, at this time no one is more concerned about the safety and well-being of our troops than military and Gold Star families. Before I speak with you again I would like some guarantee that you will treat me respectfully.

The Military Families Speak Out message is to vote against the supplemental appropriations bill.

 I was not asking you to sign on to a bill to bring the troops home now. That would be "ridiculous," because President Bush will veto any bill with timelines. Even your bill.

 It is not ridiculous to expect the Democratic leadership to end this war by not giving it one more penny. No money, the war ends. There will be money to bring the troops home.

 Bring the troops home now means start now, and bring troops home in a safe and orderly manner. MFSO has military experts who say this can be done in a few months. You are not abandoning the troops by voting to end the war; you are abandoning them by leaving them in Iraq.

 The House leadership is trying to get members who oppose the war, you, to support the appropriations bill by claiming it has provisions to support our troops. In reality, the bill allows the president to indefinitely extend the withdrawal date of August 2008 if the troops are "engaging in targeted special actions limited in duration and scope to killing or capturing members of al-Qaida and other terrorist organizations with global reach; and/or if the troops are 'training members of the Iraqi Security Forces.' " This provision could be used to keep tens of thousands of troops in Iraq for years.

 I came close to losing my son over one horrendously long year. I will not stop hounding Congress until he is safe and they all are safe. You can expect to have a growing number of military families, Iraq veterans and anti-war activists pounding on your door until the troops come home or the day you leave Congress.

 Laurie Loving

Military Families Speak Out Capital Region

Davis