So these people can be sent to fight and die for Bush’s failed war, yet they aren’t allowed to voice their concerns? This is really disturbing:

The pictures were just what the White House wanted: A teary-eyed President Bush presenting the Medal of Honor posthumously to a slain war hero in the East Room, then flying here to join the chow line with camouflage-clad soldiers as some of them prepare to return to Iraq.

There are few places the president could go for an unreservedly enthusiastic reception the day after unveiling his decision to order 21,500 more troops to Iraq. A military base has usually been a reliable backdrop for the White House, and so Bush aides chose this venerable Army installation in western Georgia to promote his revised strategy to the nation while his Cabinet secretaries tried to sell it on Capitol Hill.

To ensure that there would be no discordant notes here, Maj. Gen. Walter Wojdakowski, the base commander, prohibited the 300 soldiers who had lunch with the president from talking with reporters. If any of them harbored doubts about heading back to Iraq, many for the third time, they were kept silent.

This follows up on my earlier post of soldiers in Iraq speaking out against Bush’s plan. The soldiers speaking their minds are risking a lot. Even worse, Bush is the kind of President to have people speaking out charged with for some sort of made up crime.

Bush may be commander in chief, but the Congress sets the rules of our military, so this must be looked at. If we except these people to go to Iraq, or stay longer, then we should give them the courtesy of voicing their opinions. Silencing them is a crime against our democracy, and the commanders who are involved in this should also be held liable for their actions.

While on this subject, there is something else Congress must look into. It came out last year that Bush may very well have been breaking the law by making political speeches on military bases. Congress needs to look into that, and if found true, Bush must be charged for that crime. Every other citizen of this country is required to follow the laws of our land, and the idiot in the White House is no exception.