In a recent poll by the Pew Research Center, President Trump was found to have the support of the majority of America’s veterans.
As foreign interventionism persists in Washington’s politics, veterans are becoming increasingly discontent with the situation.
64% of those who participated in the survey say they feel the Iraq War isn’t worth fighting anymore – and nearly 60% feel the same way about the previous Afghanistan War too.
The Pew Research Center Poll also shows the majority of Veterans (55%) are equally opposed to US intervention in Syria, matched by 60% of all US adults.
In early October, Trump posted a series of tweets saying:
“The United States has spent eight trillion dollars fighting and policing in the Middle East. Thousands of our great soldiers have died or been badly wounded. Millions of people have died on the other side.Going into the Middle East is the worst decision ever made, in the history of our country! We went to war under a false & now disproven premise, weapons of mass destruction. There were none. Now we are slowly and carefully bringing our great soldiers and military home. Our focus is on the big picture! The USA is greater than ever before!”
Replying to the above, a US Veteran who has since started a new life as a photographer, voiced his agreement by pointing out:
Well said!
— Gloria Williams (@Miracle_Paradis) October 10, 2019
Not everyone showed equal support, however, with many calling the president a hypocrite due to the recent deployments to Saudi Arabia.
However, facts show otherwise. Trump recently tweeted a quote by Mark Esper, the Secretary of Defense:
“The ceasefire is holding up very nicely. There are some minor skirmishes that have ended quickly. New areas being resettled with Kurds. U.S. soldiers are not in combat or ceasefire zone. We have secured the Oil.” Mark Esper, Secretary of Defense. Ending endless wars!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 20, 2019
“The ceasefire is holding up very nicely. There are some minor skirmishes that have ended quickly. New areas being resettled with Kurds. US soldiers are not in the combat or ceasefire zone.”
Another supporter responded with the following:
Are people who hate or dislike our president capable of seeing their own hypocrisy when they’ve supported presidents or candidates whose behavior was far worse but whose language was well coached? #bengazi #lewinsky #iraqwar #isis #badeconomy #quidproquowithputin
— Chris Hoff (@chrisahoff) November 4, 2019
US veterans across the country explained their reasons for fully supporting Trump’s desire to end the seemingly endless wars in the Middle East.
One agreed that “all in all, it is a lot of wasted lives and money and effort spent to accomplish a goal we never accomplished.”
“For conservative-leaning veterans, we signed up to defend our country,” another adds. “We didn’t sign up to build girls schools in the Al Anbar Province [Iraq]. We had friends killed or wounded in action; it wasn’t clear for what.”
All of this should come as no surprise. In May, the US Army shared a video of a serving member enthusing about his service, following up with the query: “How has serving impacted you?”
The attempt at good PR backfired spectacularly, with most of the more than 12,000 responses being overwhelmingly negative.
“I’ve had the same nightmare almost every night for the past 15 years,” said one suffering from PTSD.
Another added he suffers “Extreme mood swings due to PTSD, constant pain in my knees and back, inability to tell the love of my life how I feel, and the nagging want of blowing my head off daily.”
All in all, is it really any surprise veterans are supporting our president?
