National "Support the Troops Day"

Dear Military Families:

Many of you may know that Congress has recently passed a resolution that calls
for a national moment of silence on Sunday March 26th, and declaring this day
"National Support the Troops Day." The resolution in part says: "All people in
the United States should participate in a moment of silence to reflect upon the
service and sacrifice of members of the Armed Forces both home and abroad."



As military families we understand better than anyone how important supporting
our troops is -- and we think that everyone in this country should be thinking
about supporting our troops every day (not once a year). But we are also
outraged that elected officials who continue to support and fund the war in Iraq
are pretending that they are supporting the troops by calling for a moment of
silence instead of doing what they need to do: end the war (including cutting
off funding except for what is needed to bring our troops home quickly and
safely), bring our troops home now and take care of them when they get here!



Below are excerpts from a letter that a Military Families Speak Out member wrote
to her elected officials about this National Support the Troops day/moment of
silence. We are hoping that all of you can find a way to use this opportunity to
communicate with your elected officials, and to write letters to the editor of
your newspaper, saying "A moment of silence is not enough. The best way to honor
the losses and sacrifices of our loved ones and our families is to end this war
and Bring Our Troops Home NOW!"



Please send us copies of any letters you write to either elected officials or to
the newpapers. Please let us know if it is ok to post them and how you would
like to be identified.



In peace and solidarity

Charley Richardson and Nancy Lessin

for MFSO

http://www.mfso.org





I am writing in reference to the resolution passed by the House and Senate last week
supporting a "National Moment of Silence", which asks for a moment of silence to
honor the sacrifices of our troops.



As a member of a military family whose son has made this sacrifice you seek to
honor, I can not help but point out to you that our troops and their families have
already experienced three long years of silence with no honor from our
representatives in Congress.



Most members of Congress have remained silent about the horror of the Abu Ghraib
prison scandal... When only rank and file soldiers were accused of crimes at Abu
Ghraib, and none of the commanders and Pentagon officials, including Rumsfeld, who
oversaw and authorized the torture were accused, you remained silent.



When our sons and daughters, and husbands and wives went without life-saving
clothing and equipment in Iraq, most remained silent. When vehicles were not
armor-plated against IED's you remained silent. When even simple things like
batteries for night vision goggles and radios for communication were not provided,
except by terrified parents and friends, you kept silent.



The list of chilling and heartless silences can seem endless to angry and deeply
disappointed military families. There was no outraged response from Congress when
the commander-in-chief taunted and dared insurgents to "bring em on" to kill our
soldiers.... No concern when the Bush administration impugns military families'
patriotism when they dare to bring up uncomfortable basic facts about this war, no
concern that thousand upon thousand of innocent Iraqis have been killed, that
contractors continue to reap fortunes on the backs of the American people. Congress
remains almost completely silent regarding the destruction of Iraq, the lack after
three years of basic water and electricity, lack of oil for Iraqis' cars, no sewage,
few jobs.



May I make some suggestions for authentic ways of honoring the service of my
soldier-son? Instead of a moment of silence designed to make Congress feel better,
how about each and every member of Congress making regular visits to the wounded
soldiers you sent to war? How about assigning a specific staff member to help
soldiers in their districts with VA benefits and to monitor how they are doing with
employment opportunities when they get home? How about asking the soldiers who have
been to Iraq for their assessments of what we should be doing to get out, instead of
blindly following the arrogant and incompetent draft-avoiders who sent them there?



And finally, how about honoring our troops by taking positions and voting, not based
on your re-election chances, but based on conscience and decency and honor, those
values our thousands of troops have consistently displayed for three years and which
they see all too rarely from the Congress who sent them to Iraq.