Support for the war in Iraq nears its nadir. Many people want to withdraw by the end of the year, if not sooner.
Those who said we never should have invaded in the first place are considered visionaries by some. House Speaker and Baltimore native Nancy Pelosi even went so far as to meet with Middle East leaders last week, including Syrian President Bashar Assad, whose government is a major sponsor of terrorism. She said she wants to lay the groundwork for a new foreign policy that relies on diplomacy, not just force.
Under these circumstances think how it must feel to be one of the 1,300 Maryland National Guardsmen who just found out they will start training for a yearlong deployment to Iraq later this month. Would you want to go?
Under all circumstances serving in our military is a selfless and courageous act. Under these circumstances, it is especially so. The deployment is the largest group of civilian soldiers to be activated in Maryland since World War II and will bring the number of the state?s National Guardsmen serving worldwide to about 1,700.
These soldiers, willing to risk their lives for our shared country, deserve our support. They are the kind of people like one soldier on his way to Afghanistan in BWI last weekend who said, “My pleasure,” to a thank you for his service. You can?t even get that kind of response from someone who packs your groceries many times. And he was about to spend a year being shot at.
Soldiers? families deserve our support too ? regardless of one?s views about the war. The daily fear for a loved one?s life, longing to see him or her, and oftentimes extra work caused by their absence for those with children, will take its toll. Those who claim to support the war and those who claim to oppose it must agree on one thing: Those who serve deserve our aid and comfort.
That means sending a care package to a soldier. One way to do that is to contact Dr. Bob Strahl, founder of “A Taste of Home,” who will turn 100 percent of your donations into packages for Maryland soldiers serving overseas. Check out www.atasteofhome.org for more information.
It could also mean cooking dinner for a weary mom or dad whose spouse is overseas.
Whatever small act of kindness you can do, act on it. It will be appreciated ? not to mention help to create ? more than any policy change ever could ? the “One Maryland” of shared values and goals Gov. Martin O?Malley idealized in his inauguration speech.
