Anyone can see that in the American political system, whether it’s Democrats or Republicans, you always get the same crap. I came to the realization long ago that the same situation will persist regardless of who is elected – it’s business as usual for these people.

The parties are always represented and led by rich politicians who could not possibly care less about workers or even their beloved military, who they always try to hide behind, claiming their love and support and always using troops as backdrops for their speeches.

I have had to bear witness to the price of exporting our version of “democracy” to a nation that never asked for it and the catastrophes that have come with it. If they really cared at all about us troops, why has no one stopped this war?

Why have they made it so people will deploy for 15-month rotations 2, 3, and 4 times? Why has the so-called "antiwar" Democratic Congress not cut the funding?

Why are they making a quarter of a million dollars a year and taking months and months of vacation time, while we out here make less than a fifth of that, have no time off, and are risking our lives for their policies?

And you know what else is messed up – what is waiting for me when I get out? What kind of job market and living situation will I have to face? How will I pay my tens of thousands of dollars in bills? I am very fearful of the future and the things that I will have to go through to make ends meet. I had to go to war to pay off only a portion of my debts. I am an indentured servant, a slave to the system that I am expected to kill for.

- U.S. Army Officer – 1 tour of duty in Iraq