SUPPORTING OUR TROOPS

As a military brat who opposed the wars in Viet Nam and Iraq but supported the invasion of Afghanistan, I have never understood why it is virtually impossible to make the vast majority of my family understand that opposing a war does not mean opposing the troops who fight it. My dad, who was a career officer in the Air Force, did understand, but he was practically the only one. My fighter jock brother-in-law, whom I adore, firmly believes that anti-war activities are tantamount to giving aid to the enemy, and in general most other family members agree with him.

While news accounts relate that more and more military families are becoming disenchanted with George W. Bush, you'd never know it from listening to my family. It makes me wonder if perhaps those that are vocally splitting from the Repugs are short-term military as opposed to second- or third-generation military families with a strong military tradition.

When my daughter joined the Air Force shortly after Gulf War II began, "the family" congratulated me on my new-found wisdom (they assumed I had changed my opposition to the war just because I voiced support for HER) and were appalled to learn that I was every bit as antiGW's war as ever. What causes this disconnect? When I say I support our troops in not wanting to put them in harm's way unnecessarily, how can that be perceived as undermining them?