Support the troops!

The conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq have resulted in an alarming number of servicemen charged and convicted of serious crimes. Almost none of the cases involve criminal intent.

Instead, they involve young men and women doing a tough job in a harsh and hostile environment with extremely poor senior leadership against a terrifying enemy that hasn't the courage to wear a uniform.

Our armed forces have become so crippled by bureaucrats-wearing-stars-in-nice-clean-offices that the men and women in the trenches must each have their own attorney in tow to ensure their split-second life-or-death decisions are always in perfect compliance with the ideals of those bureaucrats-wearing-stars-in-nice-clean-offices.

What our soldiers, sailors and airmen need is leadership -- not bureaucratic Monday-morning quarterbacks. That leadership (and honest, unconditional support of the troops) needs to start with the commander-in-chief.