Forum: Editorial on troops was on mark

Opinion

RELATED EDITORIAL

October 1, 2010

By DONALD N. STORING ---- The Record Eagle Fri Oct 01, 2010, 07:32 AM EDT

Am I alone in thinking the Aug. 20 Record-Eagle "Welcome Home" editorial was right on the mark? Several readers have expressed opposition to the piece — calling it unpatriotic.

Emotions run high in a community that recently has buried young patriots — and rightly so. Good reason to step back from the fog and friction of the wars and assess the situation.

The facts are indisputable:

• The U.S. unilaterally invaded the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in 2001 to destroy or dislodge al-Qaida. That mission was accomplished eight years ago. The U.S. shifted its offensive effort to eliminating the Taliban to block their attempt to inculcate classical Sharia law — the same Sharia law that is practiced in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Malaysia, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, and other sovereign nations in the Middle East and Asia.

Afghanistan (Operation Enduring Freedom):

$335 Billion Spent

U.S. Killed: 1,302

U.S. Wounded: 8,041

Civilians Killed: 14,643 - 34,240

• The U.S. invaded the Republic of Iraq in 2003 to rid the nation of weapons of mass destruction. It was discovered two months into the war that there were no such weapons. But we stayed to "free" Iraq from the controlling party and install democracy.

By weakening Iraq we have upset a decades-long policy of "dual containment" of Iraq and Iran, making Iran the dominant regional power. Now we are posturing — through our Israeli proxy — to attack Iran and further degrade relations with our Muslim neighbors.

Iraq (Operation Iraqi Freedom):

$748 Billion Spent

U.S. Killed: 4,421

U.S. Wounded: 31,951

Civilians Killed: 110,600

Although the administration warns against Iran's military spending, the U.S. military spending equals 46 percent of the world's military spending — seven times more than China, 13 times more than Russia, 73 times more than Iran — and more than the next top 14 countries combined. And the Department of Defense budget does not include the $90-plus billion allocated to the Veterans Administration.

The 2010 Department of Defense budget is $663 billion — the education budget is $98 billion. No wonder we are losing ground to China.

If Voltaire was right that "every man is guilty of all the good he did not do," then it's equally true that we are guilty for not speaking out against this ongoing unjust war cloaked in a veil of freedom. It is not unpatriotic to oppose an unjust war.

This awful truth — this abysmal conflagration — that has brought such deep sorrow — must end to truly honor these fine Americans. Let us admit these wars are wrong and bring the soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines home.

About the author: Donald N. Storing is president of the Traverse City chapter of Veterans for Peace and is a Vietnam-era veteran. Veterans for Peace is a nonprofit educational and humanitarian organization dedicated to the abolishment of war. Members are concerned citizens and veterans from World War II to Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.

About the forum: The forum is a periodic column of opinion written by Record-Eagle readers in their areas of interest or expertise. Submissions of 500 words or less may be made by e-mailing letters@record-eagle.com. Please include biographical information and a photo.