Mrs. Obama and Mrs. Biden urge Americans to support returning troops
AFP
WASHINGTON- First Lady Michelle Obama and Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden, in a Friday editorial urged Americans to "do something" to support US troops as they return from combat in Iraq.
"While America's combat mission in Iraq has ended, America's commitment to our troops and their families goes on," the two women said in an opinion piece published in USA Today.
"One percent of our population is doing 100 percent of the fighting, but we need 100 percent of Americans working to support our troops and their families," Obama and Biden said.
But, they added, there was "more work to be done" and every American should do their part for the returning soldiers.
"The Obama administration has made one of the largest investments in a generation in our veterans and military families," they said.
"This includes building a 21st-century Department of Veterans Affairs, improving care for traumatic brain injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder, strengthening military family readiness programs, helping hundreds of thousands of veterans get a college education, and combating the tragedy of homelessness among veterans," the op-ed said.
"But government can only do so much. That's why we're challenging every sector of American society to support and engage our military families.... They deserve our support long after the welcome home ceremonies are over."
Obama and Biden called the summer of 2010 "a summer of homecomings" following the end of the US combat mission in Iraq.
Nearly 100,000 US troops have been "welcomed home" from Iraq, said the piece, which made no reference to the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan, where President Barack Obama has tripled the US troop presence to 100,000 since taking office in January 2009.
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