God & Country: Why Talk About Afghanistan When We're Not Taking Care of Our Veterans Barack?

I listened to Barack Obama's press conference today as he spoke about NATO agreements on the move to upscale the focus on Afghanistan & Pakistan. As I listened to him speak, and answer questions in the Q&A that followed. It hit me: I thought the war on terror was over. Oh, I get it. It’s not over, but we’re just going to call it a different name now. Ahhh, the winds of change I tell ya; you gotta love it.

Personally, I happen to think it’s a waste of time, money, and life being at war in Afghanistan. Matter of fact, I think the whole idea of the initial invasion of Afghanistan was rather myopic. Has any outside force ever won fighting any wars in Afghanistan? No they haven’t, and you’d think that this country could have learned from history. I don’t know what you may think about this, but, isn’t it a waste of resources financial and otherwise being engaged in Afghanistan, as much as it was in Iraq?

As I listened to Obama speak, I couldn’t help but to think of a documentary I saw last weekend on LinkTV called “When I Came Home”. The documentary told the stories of U.S. Iraqi & Afghanistan war veterans who have returned home only to feel betrayed by their country. These are men and women who are homeless and some who struggle to get the necessary medical care for PTSD.

The setting for the documentary was New York City, and ironically it featured a number of minorities. These were Black men and women, who as they say, sacrificed their lives, for the protection of our country, democracy, and freedoms. Though NYC was the backdrop, I can’t help but to think that these very episodes are played out across this great nation of ours.

My question is: what good is making that sacrifice (for God & Country), when upon your return home you’re not treated accordingly to your sacrifice? Why should other countries stand behind this country in fighting the Global War on Terror … oops, I meant Overseas Contingency Operations, when they fall short on taking care of their veterans when they return home? It is estimated that there are about 250,000 veterans currently homeless on our streets every night.

You should take the time to view the documentary because it is indeed an eye-opener. Below I’ve included an excerpt (it's only 12 minutes long) of some of the people featured in the documentary. Just these snippets alone should encourage you to speak out against this as it is happening to our “heroes”. If we’re supposed to support our troops, I say we support them all the way, especially when making the transition to civilian life. I don’t know if there really is a God, but it’s a shame that Country isn’t around when these man and women need help.

God Bless America?

LEARN MORE:
More links are available at the When I Came Home film website

Visit Aaron Glantz's website

Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America

Help create housing and employment opportunities for homeless vets at US VETS, INC

Information about Stand Downs in your area is available here

Contact the members of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs and the members of the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs to urge them to work to improve the lives of returning veterans