Guess he'll get a bodyguard like good ol' Al Gore did in Vietnam. Maybe McCain's son, ya think??? THAT would be fitting...

Shame on you--why would you report this? We all know he is going, we don't need details. That unit already has a target on it's back. You should have left it alone.

So Sarah Palin's son Trac has been in Iraq for sometime now. Biden's son is no better than her son or anyone else's son for that matter! We should be proud of all of our troops who are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan not just the sons of our polititians or the rich and famous!

carolynsue,

Track Palin deployed to Iraq in late September, maybe.

Sarah exaggerated. When Track left Alaska on 12 Sep. they were bound for Fort Benning, Georgia before deploying overseas.

McCain's son Jimmy has BEEN in Iraq for months. What NO self-righteous indignation for Jimmy McCain? Hell John never even put him on the campaign trail. Save the BS for the O'bomba meetings!

please. trak was given a choice of jail or army. big difference from beau biden. get real people.

anonsnark: It doesn't matter why Trac is there. The point is he's there. He's risking his life for the service of his country just like Beau Biden and John McCain's son Jimmy and all of the other service men and women who are there. God forbid, but if he's killed and brought home in a casket it won't matter why he was there, especially if he dies honorably.

I truly feel sorrow and pity for anyone troubled enough to try to spin this story negatively in any way. It is a profoundly sad commentary.

There are many roles in the military, and my heart goes out to each and every son and daughter who has volunteered their time and expertise to keep the rest of us safe. It cannot be easy to leave friends, families, and jobs. Joe Biden loves his son Beau, and like any loving father whose child is heading to Iraq, his heart is breaking. Both of these gentlemen are class acts and true patriots. No one is safe in Iraq...everyone has a job to do. To Beau Biden and all our men and women making the world a better place for the rest of us, thank you so much. Please come home safe and whole, to the open arms of those who love you.

You angry Republicans make me sick. Trying to debase this report and twist into something it's not. We tried eight years of one of your guys and he blew it down the drain, practically dragging the entire country down with him. So please be nice. His job won't be easy (understatement) and there are bound to be some slips ups but over time Barrack Obama will help set this country on a better course than it's been in decades. Let's all work together.

Strongboy: We'll be nice when you and the rest of the democrats are nice to us! And as far as Barack Obama is concerned I have yet to see any of the changes that he promised. So far all of his cabinet appointees have been long time Washington politicians like Tom Daschle and people like Rahm Emmanuel who served in the Clinton administration.

When we go off to fight in wars that our leaders get us into, we do it honorably. We never say that you, who choose not to join the military are unpatriotic or that you do not love America. We never question whether or not our fellow soldiers, Marines, Airmen or Seamen are democrats or republicans. When I joinded the Army in 1987, my drill SGT. told my platoon that each of us who joined for four or more years would see combat and he was not lying. I was scheduled to separate from the Army to attend colleg in May of 1991, but seven months before that, I was deployed to the Middle East to liberate Kuwait from Saddam. When we join the military, we do so knowing that we may have to go off and fight in a war that many will not agree with, but that is what makes America's military personnel the best that this world has to offer. I have trained with German and Iraqi soldiers and they do not share the same bonds with their fellow soldiers that we in Uncle Sam's military have. Most of us do not agree with Bush on this war, but we fight because we care for each other. When I got injured and sent back to the states, I promised myself that I would visit my soldiers, when I recovered. I was not allowed to continue my enlistment, because of my injuries, but I did visit my friends. My visit to them was emotionally motivating for us all. Americans lack the sense of common affiliation that bonds countrymen one to another, you guys could really learn from the troops.

two things!

A. He is a US Soldier and deserves the appropriate respect. I can't stand his Dad's political stances, but I fully respect and support him as a soldier going to serve!

Anyone on either political side who feels the need to take a cheap shot at him or his father over his over his service - SHUT UP!

B. ABC, why would bother to post info on his assignment? Why do you fruitcakes insist on splashing this info all over the place? Even if Beau Biden was given extra protection, what about all those people he will be with. You just painted a big bullseye on them too ! Just because you know what his assignment is, does not mena that you NEED to publish it.

At some point, you need to actually ask yourself WHY am I putting this info in the article? It is this kind of foolish journalism that leads to all kinds of problems.

EXERCISE JUST A LITTLE COMMON SENSE PLEASE!

Joey,

VERY SINCERE THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE TO THIS COUNTRY!

Joey, I, too, want to thank you! You're the best!

and thus it is, another father watches as a son goes to take a position at the edge of freedoms shinning....

Beau Biden is not like any other son serving in the military. I am a vet, believe me i know. He is the son of the Vice-President Elect. Get it?

I'm glad that George W Bush kept Alabama safe from the Vietcong during his brave service (when he showed up) to this nation. Because of George W Bush's valor and manliness, not a single Vietcong invaded Alabama. Fact.

Joey, what you need to understand is that behind this is PR PR PR for the Bidens. They have made sure that every one of Beau Biden's moves concerning military service from the day he signed up have been trumpeted widely for his benefit as a politician. His father has also made plenty of political hay of it as far back as 5 years ago.

Yes he serves. But don't kid yourself that this is not a politically calculated stint of service. The news coverage of Biden's unit has no benefit to ANYONE but Beau Biden. But unit security matters not to the Bidens if it means sacrificing plenty of news coverage portraying young Biden as a soldier.

Biden has to set foot in Iraq, at the very least, and do a relatively credible length of tour for the political benefits to accrue. They know this and it's why they don't care what risk he brings to other soldiers.

The Biden dynasty is getting what they need out of this come hell or high water. They also know that as an individual soldier Biden will nevertheless be kept as safe as any US Senator visiting there. Unless the country of Iraq or Biden's location is literally nuked he will be safer than if he dared walked many of the streets of Wimington Delaware. His lousy job as attorney general has the murder rate there as high as its ever been.

So that's how cynical the Bidens are.

Obviously there would be tremendous screaming and gnashing of teeth (just look at what the mere mention of Beau's departure has brought out from under the rock), but I believe that he should be recalled from Iraq. And if the Republicans had won, I think Trig Palin and Jimmy McCain should have been recalled. These young men are targets, and those who serve around them are in heightened danger. There is no escaping that fact, just as there was no escaping it when Prince Harry tried to serve in Afghanistan. -- It isn't to cosset the sons that they should be recalled; it's to protect the country. If the son of a VP or a President or a Queen is kidnapped and perhaps threatened with torture, there is no way that governance of the country in questioned would be unaffected. Those are the cold, hard facts. It's a shame that so many American citizens (who would be adversely affected if it happened) would only scream insults and taunts of favoritism if the intelligent thing was done.