Respecting Those in the Military

Quote of the day:
“My friends tell me I have an intimacy problem. But they don’t really know me.”
--Garry Shandling

It’s Memorial Day, when we remember friends, neighbors and family members who served in the military.

Last week, with this holiday approaching, the debate in Washington continued over the funding legislation for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

To help support the case for continuing war funding, President Bush declassified some intelligence documents that reportedly reveal an attempt by al-Qaeda two years ago to coordinate attacks against the U.S. According to the declassified material, the operatives for the planned attacks were based in Iraq.

While not denying the veracity of this information, several Democrats said that Bush declassifies only intelligence items that support the case for continuing the war.

We can’t know exactly what the truth is here. But, as a matter of everyday operation, the Bush administration has repeatedly demonstrated its ability to control and shape every bit of information coming from the executive branch.

Of course, every president seeks to present his policies in a positive way. I think it’s not necessarily a problem that this is done. But it is very much a problem when information control becomes the obsessive priority, above everything else and with seemingly little regard for the consequences.

On Memorial Day we think of the real, human cost of war. The real human beings who are serving us now need to know that decisions are being made with all available information, and with careful attention to consequences.