It seems the higher we go, the harder the truth becomes for us. The cost of war is borne very unevenly. I wonder about the families of the young soldiers who face courts martial for their alleged conspiracy re killing of civilians in Afghanistan. Of course, they have not yet been tried and convicted yet. Still, the nightmare for their families is endless. Is this what they raised their sons to be? Is this the cost of freedom or security for America that was envisioned when they enlisted or shipped out? Regardless, it’s what these families have ended up with: a lonely nightmare.

The other day I heard a former Army captain (now in Reserve) state that he thought Iraqi military and police forces would be able to handle security. “Fine. Handling it is one thing,” I thought, “but these forces are loyal and accountable to what government there?”

The other day John Boehner said, “I think we should go through every line item in the budget and ask ourselves if the spending is so important we are going to ask our kids and grandkids to pay for it. And if it doesn’t meet that test, then why . . . are we doing it.”

OK. Since we have by default or abdication decided that the current wars were worth asking our kids and grandkids to pay for–but not ourselves today–we might ask ourselves how and why we came to that decision, if we really got or could ever get our money’s worth. If we can’t be truthful and honest about the chain of dollars, how can be ever be truthful and honest about the chains of command, responsibility and accountability? How can we be honest with anyone else if we can’t be honest with ourselves?

Thank you Marena. So good to find you here on the blog. And thanks to you and everyone else who FaceBooked this oped.