Our service members have endured unthinkable horrors. We, as a country, have an obligation to them that far exceeds any other burden. It is unconscionable to spread our military presence to Africa when we lack the financial and logistical resources to care for those who have sacrificed to secure our interests elsewhere.
In his Second Inaugural Address, President Lincoln promised "To care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan." Our government is shirking its duty. Veterans are buried in paperwork. Their benefits are usurped by widespread wrongful discharges and inexcusable bureaucratic inefficiency.
Our veterans cannot wait. Streamline and fully fund the VA and provide stopgap measures for interim healthcare and sustenance.