Our soldiers have done their job

Re “McCain assails Obama on Iraq,” July 26

The only candidate talking about military defeat in Iraq is John McCain. Our soldiers have achieved every military goal we have asked of them. They are heroes who have done their jobs flawlessly and successfully. The failures have all come from Washington. Our politicians have failed to plan, failed to set goals, failed to understand the situation and failed to construct an achievable policy.

For McCain to talk of military defeat in the face of the failure of Washington politicians is shameful, disrespectful of our armed services and astonishingly arrogant. Someone needs to remind McCain that just because politicians failed in Washington, that doesn’t mean our brave soldiers failed in Iraq.

Withdrawing our troops is not a sign of military defeat; it is an acknowledgment of mistakes by civilian politicians in Washington. Keeping our troops in harm’s way does not bring them honor; it sacrifices them on the altar of political hubris.

Randolph L. Rhett

Vallejo