Today I saw a “support our troops” magnetic ribbon on a pickup truck. 

I used to see more of them, especially in the Bush/Cheney years of the Afghan and Iraq Wars.  

I don’t oppose the sentiment, though the “support” it encourages is undefined. 

I’ve always thought the best way to “support” our troops is to keep them out of unnecessary and disastrous wars.  

Even to bring them home, not only from these wars but from imperial outposts around the globe.  But, again, “support” on these ribbons is unspecified, though the Pentagon seems to equate it with huge budgets that approach a trillion dollars every year.

Read the full piece here.

I’ve always thought the best way to “support” our troops is to keep them out of unnecessary and disastrous wars.

William Astore