is to serve a people who find nothing
amiss in the prospect of armed conflict without end. Once begun, wars continue,
persisting regardless of whether they receive public support. President Obama's
insistence to the contrary notwithstanding, this nation is not even remotely
"at" war. In explaining his decision to change commanders without
changing course in Afghanistan, the president offered this rhetorical flourish:
"Americans don't flinch in the face of difficult truths." In fact,
when it comes to war, the American people avert their eyes from difficult
truths. Largely unaffected by events in Afghanistan and Iraq and preoccupied with
problems much closer to home, they have demonstrated a fine ability to tune out
war. Soldiers (and their families) are left holding the bag. WP
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