Want to make a liberal get so mad that he can't see straight? Well then, just tell him that he doesn't support the troops and wait for ranting and a stream of obscenities to begin. But, the truth is, despite their politically motivated protestations to the contrary, the majority of liberals genuinely do not like or support our troops. They view them as dumb, brainwashed, sadistic Bushbots who only deserve support if they're trashing the war, trashing Bush, or if they're deserters like Ehren Watada.

This isn't something that's tough to figure out, nor is it a big secret: liberal contempt for the military keeps bubbling out again and again, over and over. For example, here are a few quotes that may ring a bell for you:

"...This NBC report is just an ugly reminder of the price we pay for a mercenary - oops sorry, volunteer - force that thinks it is doing the dirty work." -- Liberal Washington Post blogger, William Arkin

"One of the losers in the weekend oratorical marathon was retired Gen. Wesley Clark, who repeatedly invoked the West Point motto of "Duty, Honor, Country," forgetting that few in this particular audience (at the Democratic National Committee) have much experience with, or sympathy for, the military." -- Liberal columnist David Broder

"American fighters of the Pacific War were not heroes. The desperation of island combat included exchanged barbarities of which no one would willingly speak for a generation. On the American side, there were foul racism, vengeful refusals to take prisoners, a generalized brutality that extended to a savage air war." -- James Carroll in the Boston Globe

"For those of you who do, as a matter of principle, oppose war in any form, the idea of supporting a conscientious objector who's already been inducted [and] in his combat service in Iraq might have a certain appeal. But let me ask you this: Would you render the same support to someone who hadn't conscientiously objected, but rather instead rolled a grenade under their line officer in order to neutralize the combat capacity of their unit?"

Later, in a question-and-answer period, Churchill was asked whether the trauma "fragging" inflicts on that officer's family back home should be considered, he responded: "How do you feel about Adolf Eichmann's family?" – From Ward Churchill

"Real freedom will come when [U.S.] soldiers in Iraq turn their guns on their superiors." -- Warren County Community College adjunct English professor, John Daly

"In Vietnam, our soldiers came back and they were reviled as baby killers, in shame and humiliation. It isn't happening now, but I will tell you, there has never been an [American] army as violent and murderous as our army has been in Iraq." -- Seymour Hersh

"You know, education, if you make the most of it, if you study hard and you do your homework, and you make an effort to be smart, uh, you, you can do well. If you don't, you get stuck in Iraq." -- John Kerry, in what he later claimed was a botched joke.

"There is, Hugh, I agree with you, a deep anti-military bias in the media. One that begins from the premise that the military must be lying, and that American projection of power around the world must be wrong. I think that is a hangover from Vietnam, and I think it's very dangerous. That's different from the media doing its job of challenging the exercise of power without fear or favor." -- Liberal ABC reporter, Terry Moran

"Do our government's poorly paid contract killers deserve our 'support' for blindly following orders?" -- Ted Rall

"If a young fella has an option of having a decent career or joining the army to fight in Iraq, you can bet your life that he would not be in Iraq." -- Charles Rangel

These quotes? They're not unique expressions of the left's contempt for our troops that are putting themselves in harm's way. If you don't believe that, look at anti-war protests where they carry signs that say things like, "Long Live Iraqi Resistance" and "We support our troops when they shoot their officers." Look at popular liberal forums like the Democratic Underground, where libs refer to our troops as "Cannon fodder and killers doing what they're told to do," and say that they're "deeply ashamed of them." Look at the liberal groups like Not in Our Name where they run a "Stop The Military Recruiters Campaign" or UC Santa Cruz, where left wing thugs brag about "booting military recruiters off campus." You can even look to the liberal Mecca of San Francisco, where the The Board of Education voted to end the JROTC program and in a direct slap at the military, "refused to allow the retired USS Iowa, a historic World War II battleship, to be docked in the Port of San Francisco."

There is an extreme, pervasive dislike of the military amongst the majority of liberals in this country. It influences everything from the mainstream media's obsessive focus on Abu Ghraib, which was covered so extensively in part because they hoped to tar the average soldier by association to the left's wish to surrender in Iraq -- which is driven partly by their desire to humiliate the troops in the field and render their sacrifices meaningless.

Today, liberals may be politically savvy enough not to spit on troops returning home as they did during Vietnam, but the loathing and contempt for our troops present in that gesture is still there, behind the libs implausibly claiming to "support the troops, but not the mission" through gritted teeth.