No room for war dead

By Libby

How tragically appropriate is this? Our warmongering Commander Guy and his rubberstamp GOP are apparently so inept that they can't even get a memorial for the war dead right.

In a grim sign of the times, the "Wall of the Fallen," set up by House Republican leaders in June, is almost full. The mounting death toll from Iraq has forced U.S. House staffers to study how to reconfigure the display in the lobby of the Rayburn Building - the largest office building for members of Congress - to squeeze in more names.

According to the Defense Department, 3,736 U.S. service members died in the two wars by the end of April. New names are added to the display every few months, but none have been added since November. The last name listed is Lance Cpl. Luke Holler, 21-year-old Marine reservist from Bulverde, Texas, killed by an explosive device on Nov. 2.

In the current format, there is space for about 130 more names, but 506 Americans have died since mid-November.

Maybe they believed their own propaganda and truly belived the war would turn the proverbial corner in just another Friedman unit or two, but you would think they would have at least had a contingency plan just in case. But then again, they didn't have a plan for the post-invasion or the occupation so why would they bother to plan the memorial any better?

Since the beginning this whole ill-fated folly has been predicated on empty rhetoric and false patriotism. No doubt the GOP set up this memorial last June to score pre-election political points by demonstrating how much they support the troops. How appropriate a symbol of their failure to meaningfully support the troops in life, that they also failed to wisely plan for their deaths.