To the editor:
The cost of war in Iraq is mounting every day, and it does not seem any closer to resolution. More than 3,000 Americans have died there. We are spending on the order of $ 2 billion every week towards the war. Perhaps even worse, because it portends more trouble in the future, is the fact that hostility towards Americans has been increasing overseas.
The war in Iraq was justified under the pretext that the Iraqi government was developing weapons of mass destruction. Our own weapons inspectors have since indicated that there were no weapons of mass destruction there. We have gotten rid of Mr. Saddam Hussein and of Mr. Zaqauri, but the war goes on. The number of Iraqis who have perished in the resulting conflict parallels the number of people killed by Mr. Hussein’s government. It is difficult to argue that most Iraqis are safer today than they were four years ago. Now against this backdrop, our government is advocating sending more soldiers to Iraq in order to bring about a military solution to the problem it created by invading Iraq. So many poor decisions have been made that one has to wonder what agenda Mr. Bush, and his advisors such as Mr. Kissinger, have in mind for our country.
I am afraid we were duped into going to war to look for weapons of mass destruction where none existed. Now we may be duped again into upping our commitment towards seeking a military solution were there is none. Let’s bring our troops home and focus our resources on being more self-reliant as a country and on trying to restore our reputation as a free democracy.
Peter Sexton
Presque Isle
