Look, I'm not some zealous patriot that thinks the U.S. is always right, or that you can't criticize the Government, and so on. Before this war is started, you can criticize all you want, when this war is over we can discuss/evaluate the tradeoffs of what was accomplished. During this war, stay the hell out of the way, and watch what you say. Indecisiveness in war is a way to get more people killed, so it should be treated as the life threatening mamby-pambyisms that it is.

I enjoy looking at problems from many sides, sometimes I even enjoy diplomacy and debate. But war is what happens when diplomacy and debate have failed; and they have failed. Our armies are trained to take land, kill people and break things; that's their job. When it is time for them to do their job, all else pales. Warriors understand this, some other people don't. This isn't the 60s sit-in, and is not a time for us all to remember our youths. Frankly, the peaceniks got many more killed than they helped anyways. If you don't like this war, so what? I don't like tax & spend policies, economic mugging that is a progressive tax system, and so on. There's a time and place to talk about it, and a time not to. This is the time to shut up. When the doves come out in a time of war, you don't get your hymnal, you get your shotgun.

For the record, no, I don't endorse statements like "watch what you say"-- particularly taken out of context. I agree with Every's primary point, that a lack of commitment to the objective will make the war take longer and cost more lives; that supporting the troops ought to take precedence over trying to sway the government from the course we've taken. I don't agree that everybody should just shut up if they have a dissenting opinion during wartime for fear of jackboots at the door. And I don't think that's what he was saying in any case.

Disagree with the war's circumstances or motives, sure. Wave signs, fine, if you have to, if you don't mind the thought of the troops seeing you on TV and wondering whether the country is behind them or what. But don't throw rocks at National Guardsmen.