“Surge” This, Rudy!

I have to confess that I didn’t watch the Democratic debate the other night, so I’m really not qualified to critique it (I linked to other posts that did, since those authors actually viewed it). I obtain my information on the candidates elsewhere; besides, I will support the Democratic nominee regardless of who this person is, though naturally I hope it is John Edwards, and I’m doing what I can in my own small way to make that happen.

Given that, I’m sure you’ve guessed that I saw not a millisecond of the Repug media-fest last night. Likewise, I’m reading about it from other sources – for comic relief, if for no other reason – and this is how I came across this post on what Rudy Giuliani said (h/t Atrios), particularly this excerpt…

It’s unthinkable that you would leave Saddam Hussein in charge of Iraq and be able to fight the war on terror. And the problem is that we see Iraq in a vacuum. Iraq should not be seen in a vacuum. Iraq is part of the overall terrorist war against the United States.

The third and fourth sentences of that paragraph are the reality we now face due to our pre-emptive invasion in 2003. However, though the second sentence is somewhat plausible, the first sentence is utterly ludicrous.

In a recent column, Paul Krugman of the New York Times said that when a politician utters statements like that, he or she should be laughed at. Instead of doing that, though, I’m going to use all of this as an introduction to the story of New Hampshire National Guard specialist Lisa Hayes (as reported in the Boston Globe here; I will admit, though, that Giuliani richly deserves ridicule, but I’ll save that for later).

You see, Spec. Hayes and thousands of our other brave service people have paid and continue to pay for this delusional thinking. While they sacrifice for our country, the people who put them in harm’s way continue to occupy a fantasy land controlled by the Kagans and their imaginary “surge” success, including a general drinking the Bushco Kool Aid who is now saying that the “surge” hasn’t even started yet (ah, but just wait until September; will we “find the pony” then?), and Bushco itself which continues to conflate the Iraq tragedy with past wars that apply not at all, though Vietnam is a possible exception at this point).

Spec. Lisa Hayes is a special case, though; as reported in the Globe…

…(Hayes) surrendered yesterday to Army authorities after being charged as a deserter for refusing to fight in Iraq until a custody case involving her 7-year-old daughter was resolved.

The dispute, among the first of its kind in New England, underscores the tremendous strain the Iraq war has placed on the Guard and the nation's all-volunteer military, whose members often leave behind needy families and tumultuous personal lives as their combat tours are repeatedly extended.

In February, Hayes received emergency leave from her second deployment to Iraq after an alleged domestic violence incident at her former husband's house, where her daughter, Brystal Knight, was staying. As the resulting custody case moved slowly through the courts, the military ordered her back to Iraq.

Hayes didn't go.

"I'm really sad that the military is doing this to me -- and not only me, but my daughter," she said in a telephone interview from Fort Dix, N.J., where she turned herself in yesterday, daughter in tow. "I do deserve to be treated humanely, and that has not happened."

…

Hayes joined the Guard in 2003 to get medical training so she could become a registered nurse. She served her first tour from January 2004 to February 2005 with the 3643d Security Forces, protecting dignitaries from attacks. Last August, she began a second tour as a guard at a prisoner-of-war compound. Her unit, which includes her current husband, Jonathan, is scheduled to return home in September.

The story notes that Hayes tried to have a friend watch over her daughter while she served, but the friend could not do this because of severe back trouble. In all probability, Hayes will receive an honorable discharge after her case is processed, but this is not assured at this point (and this is taking a toll on her daughter, which is also noted in the story).

So while the candidates of either major political stripe generate all kinds of media moments that are consumed as ferociously as possible by scribes in the employ of communications companies with acronyms denoting who they are, let’s not forget people like Lisa Hayes and the thousands like her who balance real-world demands with service to our country (like Iraq, they shouldn’t be seen “in a vacuum” either, Rudy).

Update 6/19/07: As Atrios sez (h/t), Rudy had other priorities (a Repug thing, as we know).