"As we continue to fight the war on terror, we express our gratitude to our troops whose valor over the last three years provided freedom to the Iraqis, while protecting our liberty here at home"
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Patriotism does a lot of heavy lifting here, and that is exactly the point. Murphy’s line is built as a seamless chain of premises: “war on terror” leads to “gratitude,” which leads to “valor,” which leads to “freedom” abroad and “liberty” at home. The sentence is engineered to make those links feel inevitable rather than contested. If you accept the emotional premise - troops deserve thanks - you’re gently nudged to accept the policy premise: the Iraq War was both liberating and protective.
The timing matters. “Over the last three years” places this in the early, grinding phase of the Iraq occupation, when public support was fraying and the original justifications (WMD, direct ties to 9/11) were under pressure. So the rhetoric pivots to a more durable argument: not the factual case for invasion, but the moral case for perseverance. “Provided freedom to the Iraqis” retrofits the mission into a liberation narrative; “protecting our liberty here at home” keeps the fear-based post-9/11 frame intact. Two audiences, one sentence: Iraqis as beneficiaries, Americans as the endangered.
The subtext is also a warning shot. To question the war is to risk sounding ungrateful, or worse, indifferent to “liberty.” By merging soldierly sacrifice with national security outcomes, the statement blurs a crucial distinction: honoring service versus endorsing strategy. It’s a political move designed to convert respect into consent, and to make dissent feel like disloyalty.
The timing matters. “Over the last three years” places this in the early, grinding phase of the Iraq occupation, when public support was fraying and the original justifications (WMD, direct ties to 9/11) were under pressure. So the rhetoric pivots to a more durable argument: not the factual case for invasion, but the moral case for perseverance. “Provided freedom to the Iraqis” retrofits the mission into a liberation narrative; “protecting our liberty here at home” keeps the fear-based post-9/11 frame intact. Two audiences, one sentence: Iraqis as beneficiaries, Americans as the endangered.
The subtext is also a warning shot. To question the war is to risk sounding ungrateful, or worse, indifferent to “liberty.” By merging soldierly sacrifice with national security outcomes, the statement blurs a crucial distinction: honoring service versus endorsing strategy. It’s a political move designed to convert respect into consent, and to make dissent feel like disloyalty.
Quote Details
| Topic | Military & Soldier |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
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