Of soldiers, death, and respect

I noted in an electronic newsletter this morning that a local peace group plans to spend part of an upcoming Sunday remembering the approximately 1000 US soldiers who have died in George W. Bush's misguided middle-eastern war. From the newsletter: "Arlington Midwest (1,000 crosses or other grave markers) will be on display throughout the day. At 7:30 pm there will be a sundown ceremony with reading of the names and playing of Taps."

Meanwhile, one of the local Republican bigwigs in nearby Oakland County spent the first part of August defiantly refusing to lower county flags in honor of Michigan soldiers killed in Iraq. According to him, publicly acknowledging and honoring fallen soldiers "politicizes the war":

Instead of lowering flags, government should be building support for the troops who are fighting the war, said Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson (search), a Republican.

"His feeling is that lowering the flags to half-staff really politicizes the war and promotes opposition to the war," Patterson spokesman Robert Dustman said.

Ah, I see. A presidential candidate dressing up in a flight suit that he couldn't be bothered to wear in actual combat, and being flown out to an aircraft carrier for a photo op strutting around in front of a red-white-and-blue banner trumpeting "mission accomplished", is *not* politicizing the war, but admitting that there have been US casualties *is.* ("War is peace....") Just like the government's censorship of photos of military coffins being shipped back to the US. Just like Republican corporate supporters censored NightLine earlier this year when when they listed the US war dead.

Who's really honoring and respecting the troops here? Those who acknowledge their sacrifice, or the posturing Republican chickenhawks who use them as campaign props, then send them off to combat like so much conveniently animated meat and refuse to even publicly acknowledge them when they're killed or injured?