A Time Of Death

Nineteen Senators, voted into their office under the pretext of representing their constituents, voted yesterday to favor amnesty for Iraqis who murder our troops.

I’m not going to call them cowards, because I know at least two of these men have served this country with honor in the past.

Actually, though, they are worse than cowards. They are total frauds.

They serve ostensibly to represent us, but flagrantly, proudly and tragically refuse to do so. Because after all, if the first duty of government isn’t to protect its citizens, than what is?

I thought this quote from Gary Hart yesterday at The Daily Kos was appropriate for these Senators (I know Hart’s quote was aimed at the Democrats in that body also, aside from the six...still cannot believe that number...who supported the amendment to bring our people home from Iraq):

There is something in life a lot more important than holding on, at all cost, to a Congressional seat. There is integrity, there is conviction, and there is courage. History's jury will sit in judgment today on those Democrats and will find wanting those without the conviction and courage to say "enough".

Indeed. Here are the 19:

Allard (R-CO)
Bond (R-MO)
Bunning (R-KY)
Burns (R-MT)
Coburn (R-OK)
Cochran (R-MS)
Cornyn (R-TX)
DeMint (R-SC)
Enzi (R-WY)
Graham (R-SC)
Hagel (R-NE)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Kyl (R-AZ)
Lott (R-MS)
McCain (R-AZ)
Sessions (R-AL)
Stevens (R-AK)
Thomas (R-WY)
Warner (R-VA)

(By the way, I was told that I couldn't find the server when I tried to access Trent Lott's online form. Why is that oddly appropriate?)

Given all of this, I’ve been thinking about something that is particularly unsettling, but I think it needs to be said.

As long as we’re sending our people in Iraq (and what I'm about to say may apply to Afghanistan also, which is, after all, where we should have concentrated our efforts exclusively all along anyway) on a suicide mission, I think we should let them call the shots.

What I’m saying is that, if they’re captured on patrol like Thomas Tucker or Kristian Menchaca were, we should give them a means to take their own lives.

I know this violates every religious or spirituality-related sensibility we can imagine, but one can only imagine the horrific acts of brutality al Qaeda performed on these men before they finally died (according to a report I read, a visual identification was impossible…will it take DNA testing to confirm their identities?).

At least if our soldiers know that they have a means to take some fast-acting pill in the event that they’re captured, it could lessen their suffering before they leave this earth so they won’t be aware of anything when the enemy performs some unspeakable acts upon them.

I’m typing these words and I’m reading them, and I can’t believe it has come to this, but if our government is going to utterly fail these men and women (much in the way the 19 senators above have failed them), then at least we should acknowledge it and leave the most important final decision that can be made in their hands.