Thank God it wasn't one of the well-fed white men who sent them to this quagmire

Person of the Year: The American Soldier

Where US troops are

Person of the Year: Portrait of a Platoon

Person of the Year: Families of Soldiers

The American Soldier' has been named Time magazine Person of the Year, giving credit not to those who formulate U.S. foreign policy but those who face bullets and grenades as they go about carrying those policies out. There was little disagreement in Time's newsroom that the U.S.-led war in Iraq was 2003's top story, Time Managing Editor Jim Kelly told Reuters.

However you feel about the war in Iraq, it would be tough to argue that the American troops on the ground haven't done their jobs in anything but a thoroughly professional, proficient, and outstanding manner. This recognition is LONG overdue, and speaking only for myself, I'm grateful beyond measure that the politicians who created this crisis- particularly George W. Bush- aren't the ones being honored. It's one thing to send troops into harm's way; it's quite another being part of the fighting force doing the fighting and dying. A tip of the TPRS hat goes to all of the men and women in uniform- whether in Iraq, Afghanistan, Bosnia, or stateside. Wherever they may be, the American military is a professional, well-trained, highly-trained, and apolitical force. Not many countries worldwide can say that.

"The American Soldier" was named on Sunday as Time magazine Person of the Year, giving credit not to those who formulate the foreign policies of the United States but those who face bullets and grenades as they execute those policies....

President Bush and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld were candidates, but "the very messy aftermath of the war has made it clear that Washington's policy was going to have to be carried out day by day by the soldiers on the ground," [TIME Managing Editor Jim] Kelly said.

"We thought the title belonged to those people."

Time made a similar decision in 1950 when "The American Fighting-Man" got the title as the U.S. waged war in Korea.

In Washington, Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the selection was "just exactly right."

Myers last week visited U.S. troops in Iraq, Kuwait, Afghanistan (news - web sites) and Bahrain. "These folks look terrific. They understand the mission. They're confident in the mission," Myers told the "Fox News Sunday" program. "In many cases, it's the military that stands between the terrorists and their goal and they are doing a terrific job."

I couldn't agree more. In a perfect world, these folks would be home in time for Christmas next year, but then we don't live in a perfect world, do we?