Politics & Power Quote by Mark Kennedy

Gratitude is doing double duty here: it’s a morale boost and a political shield. Mark Kennedy’s line wraps the Iraq War in the language of civic decency, making “recognition and support” sound like a neutral obligation rather than a stance on a contested invasion. The phrasing is careful: you’re not asked to endorse strategy, intelligence failures, or postwar planning. You’re asked to applaud “their work,” a move that collapses political disagreement into something that can be framed as disrespect for troops.

The verb choice matters. “Remove Saddam Hussein from power” is cleaner than “invade,” “occupy,” or “regime change,” and it narrows the story to a single villain and a single task. That simplification performs its own kind of inoculation: if the mission is defined as toppling a dictator, then doubts about legality, civilian cost, or long-term instability can be recast as distractions from an obvious moral aim.

Then comes the wide security umbrella: “the American people, civilians abroad, and the people of Iraq.” It’s a rhetorical coalition built to mirror the military one, implying that the operation protects everyone worth naming. The inclusion of Iraqis is especially strategic, positioning U.S. force as benevolent protection rather than self-interested projection of power. In the post-9/11 political climate, “safety and security” wasn’t just a goal; it was the master narrative that disciplined debate. The subtext is clear: support the troops, support the mission, support the premise that American force is synonymous with public safety - at home and, conveniently, everywhere else.