Troops Mercenaries Should Shut Up

The closest I have seen to rock bottom in quite some time comes courtesy of William Arkin writing in the Washington Post. The headline, "The Troops Also Need to Support the American People," tells it all really.

American troops are far removed from the day-in-day-out grind of anti-war sentiment, according to Arkin, and, after all, they are on the other side of the planet. Amidst the carnage and hardship of war, is it really too much to ask that they spend more time contemplating how hard it is to be a stateside armchair quarterback?

Frankly, they are lucky we don't hold them in contempt:

These soldiers should be grateful that the American public, which by all polls overwhelmingly disapproves of the Iraq war and the President's handling of it, do still offer their support to them, and their respect.

And while we're on the subject, it is the troops who are living in the lap of luxury:

...we pay the soldiers a decent wage, take care of their families, provide them with housing and medical care and vast social support systems and ship obscene amenities into the war zone for them, we support them in every possible way, and their attitude is that we should in addition roll over and play dead, defer to the military and the generals and let them fight their war, and give up our rights and responsibilities to speak up because they are above society?

Couldn't you just cut the irony with a knife?

Arkin provides no evidence, nor will anyone else, that anyone has asked him or anybody else to give up the right to speak; a popular mantra of a left-wing compelled to cry censorship anytime their armchair beliefs are challenged. Listen to the generals they said, until the generals started to speak. Now, the troops need to forfeit their own right to speak for the greater glory left-wing political gain.

Arkin is responding to an NBC report that dared to break away from the daily requirement of reporting American casualties and, in a moment of apparent naivety, bothered to ask the troops how they felt. But, are they really just "troops?"

...this NBC report is just an ugly reminder of the price we pay for a mercenary - oops sorry, volunteer - force that thinks it is doing the dirty work.

No need to listen to those "young" "naive" "kid" mercenaries. The "dirty work" is being done here by the real heroes, an anti-war movement that is far better positioned to know what is actually going on, and what is best for the troops mercenaries and the country. Unless, of course, that mercenary is Jesse Macbeth, a true American patriot. Then we need to sit up and take note.

Those damn soldiers just aren't playing ball, says Arkin. So maybe it is time to cut them loose:

America needs to ponder what it is we really owe those in uniform.

Well, I'd say listening to what they have to say would be a good start. But that is too much to ask for Arkin, who has decided that if the troops mercenaries won't toe the line, America don't owe them jack.

I guess we always knew it would come to this. Sooner or later the soldiers would have to maginalized if the anti-war movement was to guarantee a defeat in Iraq. But to see it in black and white is still stunning.

Scroo-lou has more and she ain't happy, LGF has all you need to know about where Arkin comes from, and Blackfive unleashes his darker side.

There, Commenter Grouch pretty much sums it up:

Liberal think:
You can't vocalize support for the war if you are not a soldier.
You can't vocalize support for the war if you are a soldier.

I had to give up reading all the comments at Arkin's column, there was just too many. But I did manage to find this gem, from AF de Villiers:

Mr. Arkin - I really did try to see the military from your point of view, but I'm afraid I can't stick my head that far up my ass.

I feel dirty now and need a shower.