The Hill News

Rick Perry on Wednesday criticized President Obama for not arranging a parade to welcome U.S. soldiers returning from Iraq, accusing him of not properly thanking the military.

"It really disturbs me that nearly after nine years of war in Iraq that this president wouldn’t welcome home our many heroes with a simple parade in their honor," Perry said at a campaign stop in Iowa. "Maybe it’s because this war is unpopular with the Democrats. I don’t know. But Mr. President, our soldiers come first. And it comes before party politics. We need to welcome our soldiers home. Give them that parade. Give them that pat on the back. Tell them thank you for the freedom that we have."

Mitt Romney, Perry's rival for the GOP presidential nomination, expressed a similar concern earlier on Wednesday on Fox & Friends, saying "a welcome home ceremony of some kind makes a lot of sense.

"The men and women who sacrificed so extraordinarily over the years in Iraq, the families of those that have lost loved ones, I think deserve recognition," he said. "And so whether that's a ticker tape parade or special ceremony somewhere else welcoming our troops home is something they deserve."

Read more...