MR. BUSH, SEND YOUR OWN DAUGHTERS TO IRAQ.

Byline: Posted by Carol Rock valleynews.com

So our president plans on creating a ``surge'' of 21,500 more troops to Iraq to salvage his criminally low approval rating.

That's the only reason I can see for his plan to put thousands of Americans in harm's way for a conflict that may never be remedied.

As of this writing, 3,268 coalition troops have lost their lives in Iraq, supporting this misguided man. More than 22,834 U.S. troops have been injured, including my son, who served for 41/2 years with the 173rd Airborne Brigade and 10th Special Forces. He was part of the initial ``surge'' in March 2003, three months before President Bush declared ``Mission accomplished!'' and the ``end to major combat'' in an embarrassingly insulting publicity stunt. While you were getting the VIP treatment on an aircraft carrier, he faced major combat until he safely made it out of country in December of that year. We're supposed to be proud that you admitted you made a mistake during your speech to the nation this last week. But a mistake isn't fixed until there is remedy. Sending in 21,500 more victims isn't a remedy. If you really want to improve your credibility as a leader, there is one thing you can do.

Send in your daughters. Simple as that. Put your own children on that front line and see how your perception of this war changes drastically.

I've done that. I've lived through coming home from work every day, looking up and down my street for the dreaded Stratus that every military family knows will contain two people -- a military officer and a chaplain. We got lucky. It was never there for us.

But the families of those 3,017 dead weren't so fortunate. They bear the weight of your horrendously bad judgment. What keeps you awake at night, sir? Do you jump when the phone rings, like 132,000 American families do every day? Do you have alerts sent to your home and work computers from areas like Kirkuk, Tikrit, Balad or Fallujah so you can worry when there are fatalities, holding your breath until you get a call or e-mail from your child saying, ``They missed me this time.''

Let me tell you what made me the most angry during those 41/2 years, Mr. Bush: Seeing your daughters lawlessly flaunting their celebrity status while my son carried a gun and defended their freedom.

My husband and I raised our children to love their country and they do. We are unspeakably proud of our son's courage in volunteering. But how sad is it that we take comfort in the fact that he's disabled enough (knees and ankles damaged from paratrooper duties, hearing severely compromised from artillery fire, not to mention the nightmares that have plagued soldiers since wars began) to avoid being called back to fight a futile battle. You told Americans that ``the year ahead will demand more patience, sacrifice and resolve.'' Here's your chance to do some real leading, Mr. President. Resolve to have your family make the same sacrifice you've asked the rest of us to make. I promise, it will significantly change your resolve.