We are members of Military Families Speak Out (MFSO), an organization of over 3,800 military families opposed to the war in Iraq, whose loved ones are currently serving in, or are soon to be deployed or re-deployed to Iraq, and Gold Star Families Speak Out, a chapter of MFSO whose loved ones have died as a result of the ongoing military occupation of Iraq. No one is more concerned about the safety and well-being of our troops than we are — they are our loved ones.
We are outraged with those in Congress who profess to be against the war in Iraq, yet help broker and support a budget deal that continues to fund it. Congress will once again be complicit in permitting an illegal and immoral war to continue unchecked. They continue to buy this war, and now they own it lock stock and barrel. Military and Gold Star families who have been speaking out against the war in Iraq are not fooled by Members of Congress who plan to vote against the budget package they have just brokered or allowed to happen. They continue to betray our troops, their families and this nation by facilitating the funding of a war based on lies.
We want to remind our elected representatives that this is not a shell game they are playing. Providing President Bush with funds to continue the war in Iraq allows the continued deaths and maiming of our loved ones and the Iraqi people. Military families across the country know that real support for our troops means providing all funds necessary to bring them home quickly and safely, and take care of veterans and their families.