Velma Berger – 7/24/05

This page was last updated on July 25, 2005.

Nothing to admire; Velma Berger; Beaver County Times; July 24, 2005.

This letter is just one talking point after another.

Below is a detailed critique of the letter.

“I just finished reading Rita Gavert’s letter ‘United [sic] behind the war.’ I am tired of hearing that if we don’t support the leadership and lies of the George Bush administration, we don’t support the troops.”

[RWC] That’s not what the letter said. Here are the relevant two sentences from Ms. Gavert’s letter. “For the media and many Democrats in Congress to continually talk about the mess we’re in and this ‘useless war’ is to undermine and devalue every brave soldier, to say nothing of demoralizing them. This war should bring out anger at the enemy and a resolve to unite, not be a political springboard used to blame the president and the administration and attack every move that’s made”

Ms. Gavert is correct. You can’t bash every aspect of a war in a public forum – and in so doing provide aid and comfort to the enemy – and then actually believe this helps the men and women in harm’s way. As a reminder, the anti-American media in the Middle East pick up all this criticism and provide it as positive support to the terrorists. Folks, this isn’t 1776; what we say in the U.S. ends up in anti-American media outlets within hours.

“We are the ones who support our brave troops and want a plan to bring them home again. There is no plan.”

[RWC] Why do folks like Ms. Berger believe it’s smart to tell your enemy when you are going to leave the battlefield?

“We do not need to support this unjust invasion into a country that had no weapons of mass destruction. This president would not take the time to let the inspectors do their job.”

[RWC] The inspectors were in Iraq for 7 years before Saddam Hussein kicked them out in 1998 and for months in 2002 and 2003. How much time did the inspectors need? Ms. Berger fails to note the inspectors themselves conceded Hussein was deceiving them.

“All we found was an evil dictator crawling out of a hole in the ground. Are we going to go to war after every evil dictator or leader in the world or just the countries that have oil? When our ‘war president’ announced mission accomplished, he had no plans to secure the borders of Iraq. Now Iraq has become a hot bed for terrorists.

“Gavert says she admires the patience of these evil people. I, on the other hand, find nothing about them to admire.”

[RWC] This is the one item on which Ms. Berger and I agree. I understand the point Ms. Gavert tried to make, but she presented it poorly.

“While our casualties continue to mount, our government is cutting veteran’s benefits and closing V.A. hospitals. So much for supporting our troops.”

[RWC] As I’ve discussed in a bunch of previous critiques, it’s completely inaccurate to claim veteran benefits are being cut. A review of the 2006 federal budget shows Department of Veterans Affairs spending increased approximately 51% under President Bush (five years) vs. approximately 27% under Bill Clinton (eight years). Is it enough? I don’t know, but it’s incorrect to refer to a 51% spending increase as a “lack of funds.” Actual 2004 DVA spending was $59+ billion and total 2006 proposed DVA spending is $68+ billion.