Happy Thanksgiving, Amy!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING AMY, FROM YOUR MOTHER, BOB & JOHN
LOVE TO ALL THE FAMILY THERE.

IMO, the MRAP program is something that should be held back; I think it was overdone, a panic politicized decision trying to play catch-up. The program that is working against IEDs is the upstream interdiction of makers and planters, and the hugely improved tips flow from the populace.

Every military decision that the pols impose is apparently the wrong one. Congress should butt out and STFU.

is my mind boggled or what? didn't i hear a ways back some complaining that we sent our troops to war without the proper means and equipment to fight this war? and now those very same persons want to take away the funding that is being asked for in order to provide our troops the very means and proper equipment to do the job?

Once again, an excellent piece Amy. But remember, they support the troops.

Yeah, right. I would hate to see what they considered NOT supporting the troops...how about they just pick up guns and start shooting at our troops themselves, at least THAT would be more honest than what they are doing.

Nice job trying to USE the troops as a wedge to push forward a political agenda. I guess that is the real way to support them, huh?

When will you learn that supporting the troops and supporting the war are two different things? Just because you say you support the troops does not mean that you do. One can easily support the troops but not support the war - it's pretty easy to do.

Bru, I don't have to use the troops to make a point, unlike liberals. We've been an Army family for 14 years and my husband been to Iraq for a year. We completely understand the committment and investment and support it.

We also see Democrats pretending to support the troops with lipservice and then pulling the rug out from under us by not funding us. In fact, I work as a federal contractor here on Ft. Leavenworth and because the Congress won't sign any defense appropriation bills the quality of life is suffering on military posts for families. Services are being suspended; support items are being denied.

These jerks in Congress add pork to the bill for their own benefit, things that have NOTHING to do with defense spending. Meanwhile, IED programs are running out of funds..... this is how Congress shows its support to the troops?? Give me a break!

John Kerry may think we're uneduated and dumb but we weren't born yesterday.

I don't see very many people who support the troops oppose the war. The troops are pretty clear that they want to complete the mission. Democrats are pretty clear that they want to prevent us from doing that.

Doesn't sound like support to me.

And by the way, it's a DOD news program. No one's using the troops. That's like saying the troops are using themselves. These are reporters who are active duty; they write the reports and present them to the Pentagon Channel.

My comments were more directed at the comment Spree made.

Kudos to your husband's 14 years of service. Only 6 more and he can retire! However, I know a lot of troops who are ready to bring this war to an end. Both sides of the argument can make that claim. You live in a box if you think all troops love this war or want to continue down this path. I realize you are at an active duty post. I am a National Guardsman and I can tell you that a large number of us are sick of being called away from our civilian jobs for 6 - 15 months at a time. Certainly everyone who enlists realizes that could happen. But some Army National Guard soldiers are going on their 3rd deployment of more than a year. That is a long time to be pulled away from a civilian job and a family. We all make sacrifices, but at some point this war needs to move toward an end with a REAL exit strategy. It's great to say the surge is successful, but now what?

You can blame Congress all you want for not passing war funding. But you also can blame those republicans and President Bush that will not allow the funding legislation to move forward. Polls consistently show that a majority of Americans want troops home within a year. The legislation that died in the senate had a "goal" (not mandate) to redeploy troops by December 2008. That is more than a year away. Had senate republicans and the president been in favor of this, funding would be available. So I could stand here and blame them for the lack of funding. Bush is not king, he is a president. He does NOT get to do whatever the hell he wants. If congress says we are not funding this misguided war anymore, then that is how it is. That is their JOB in congress and they have that ability. However, you would NEVER blame the republicans for the lack of funding - it is clearly the democrats fault because they are the "defeatists" and they do not want us to win.

Maybe where you are you have to support the war to support the troops. Not here. I know many people, many who are in the military, who support the troops but not this war.

I *have* to support the war to support the troops? Give me a break. Putting soldiers in war and denying them funding to prevent IED attacks is NOT supporting the troops. Trying to pull them out of a mission that most say is working and seeing results is not supporting the troops.

Who cares what the majority of Americans think about the war? Most couldn't define counterinsurgency or tell you the difference between a Sunni or a Shia. Most couldn't even give a basic accounting of military rank or what they do. The American public is in no position to dictate the war. That's why we have brilliant generals like David Petraeus.

I presume we'll be in the military for longer than 6 years. Unlike you, we don't see it as a prison sentence but an honor and opportunity to serve. Its' that attitude that makes the military the greatest in the world.

You are too funny, Amy! You post your response on here saying that we have the "brilliant generals" to dictate the war. Then you put a new blog up that blasts LT GEN Sanchez! I guess he was not one of the brilliant generals because he wasn't on your side of this debate. Hilarious! You also say the public is in no position to dictate the war - yet you site the New York Times as a viable source for saying the war is going good. Who cares what the NYT says if you believe the public is in no position to dictate the war?! Sorry Amy, you can't have it both ways!

Support from the American public is imperative to this war. You can tell me all day that most Americans don't know military rank structure of the difference between a Sunni or Shia, but the public still has a lot at stake in this war. This war affects EVERYONE, not just those in the military. Yes, it affects us more, but EVERYONE has something at stake here as our military is not at war, our COUNTRY is at war. If you think this war only affects the military and the general public has nothing at stake then you must not understand what a war truly is.

And yes, I must see military service as a prison sentence - that was my reason for enlisting! Just because I am opposed to this war doesn't mean I'm not a damn good troop in the military. You can question my patriotism, but you cannot question my devotion to my job and my ability to perform it. That has NOTHING to do with my view on this war.

The "brilliant generals" I was referring to were the ones who've turned the war around and are onboard with the counterinsurgency strategy. That would be GEN Petraeus, Odierno, Simcock, etc., etc. GEN Sanchez isn't brilliant nor active duty. I have as much right to criticize him as he thinks he does to criticize the war.