Seven years of war

To the editor:
On March 19, 2009, the seventh year of the war in Iraq begins. Leave aside the false pretenses under which the Bush Administration sold the war to the American people. Simply add up the costs [as of March 9, 2009]: 4256 U.S. soldiers killed; 45,298 wounded, many extremely seriously; somewhere between 15 and 30 percent of returning veterans suffering from mental illness; several hundred thousand Iraqis killed; many Iraqis tortured; and an estimated cost of at least $3 trillion [by Nobel Prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz.]. And where are the benefits? The Muslim world hates America more than ever before. And there’s the small matter of the need for the funds to try to solve our economic problems at home.
Since the war began in 2003, there has been a protest, every week, on the bridge across the Aroostook River in Presque Isle, Sunday from noon-1 p.m. Although none of us has wanted to be doing this for so many years, we intend to continue until the U.S. administration comes to its senses and brings the troops home. Based on the responses of those who drive by us on Sundays, sentiment has turned and continues to turn against this war.
Still, the war is not over, the troops are not home, the administration continues to squander the national treasure. [Well, the borrowed treasure, given our national debt.]
It’s sad that thus far this letter is a near exact copy of one I wrote three year ago. Only the number of casualties and cost of war have been updated.
Our new president has set a sort of timeline for withdrawal of combat troops from Iraq, and we appreciate that and look forward to its actual implementation. We wonder how many non-combat troops [an oxymoron] will remain, and what their mission will be. Could that mission not be served by civilians from many countries, rather than soldiers from the United States?
And then there is Afghanistan, where the new president proposes to increase the number of US troops. We oppose such action as misguided and counterproductive. There is nothing that so infuriates extreme Islamists as our presence occupying their lands. As of this date 661 American soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan.
On March 19, recognizing this beginning of the seventh year of the war in Iraq, as well as the continuation of the war in Afghanistan, we are inviting you to join in a day of peace and learning. From 5-6 pm, there will be a protest against the waste and killing of these wars. The protest will take place on the Aroostook River Bridge, near the mall in Presque Isle.
At 7 pm, there will be a presentation at UMPI entitled “Talking to the Taliban.” Dr. Imbe Daudi, of Presque Isle, will try to help us understand the many complexities of this part of the world. The presentation will be in the St. John room at the Campus Center.
There has also been a regular Sunday witness against these wars. This witness began with the Iraq war in 2003, and has continued every week since then. We invite you to join us on the bridge between noon and 1 p.m. every Sunday.