Wave the Flag, Consider the real cost of war

Go ahead and wave the flag and stick a yellow ribbon on the back of your SUV. You really should. After all, we spend billions in taxpayer money every year to keep our gasoline cheap. How do we do that? Our soldiers are sent to strategic areas all over the world to make sure our crude oil keeps flowing.. Sometimes they are sent to unfortunate places, like Iraq. Some are killed and many are maimed for life. Our government is spending at least 177-million dollars a DAY on Iraq alone

But since our soldiers do so much for us, protecting the American way of Life, including our gas and diesel consumption, let’s zoom in a little closer for a look at the glories of war.

For exhibit A let’s visit the wedding of Marine Sergeant Ty Ziegel. Sergeant Ziegal was severely wounded by a suicide car bomber while serving in Iraq in 2004. After 19 months in recovery at Brooke Army Hospital, he married his sweetheart Renee Kline. Yes, she went ahead with the wedding even though her fiancée’s appearance had been.... altered. These award winning photos were taken by photojournalist Nina Berman, god bless her.

Now remember this, more than 20,000 young Americans have suffered severe war injuries in Iraq alone. Now remember hardly any members of congress, the executives at the White House, or highest ranking civilians at the Pentagon have family members serving in our Armed Forces.

These photos are not pleasant but they are a reminder what war is about. Wave that flag; freshen up that yellow ribbon sticker. Then ask yourself, why in hell are we there, except to keep the cheap gas flowing, is the gas really cheap, and is it worth it???

Wounded GI photos here:

http://www.thememoryhole.org/war/wounded/gallery.htm

Marine wedding slideshow here: http://www.ninaberman.com/index3.php?pag=prt&dir=marine