To the editor:
Eighteen years ago, on March 19, 2003, the United States invaded Iraq. Immediately thereafter [as well as before], anti-war protests began throughout Maine. The protest in Presque Isle has been continuous, in all weathers, through all these years.
Babies born in March of 2003 can now vote, and would be eligible for the draft if we still had one. Within our group of protestors we have seen deaths and relocations. Yet we persist.
There are still many U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as an even larger number of “contractors” or mercenaries. As pointed out in a recent New York Times article, we don’t really know how many troops are deployed in war zones, since it is the military’s practice to obfuscate the numbers.
And the cost of our wars is a guessing game, but estimates are in the trillions of dollars.
And what have we bought with all this blood and treasure? The Middle East appears to be much less stable than it was before the invasions. Iran appears stronger. Syria is a humanitarian disaster.
So, not much. If anything.
It has certainly been interesting to stand in protest at the same place and time for the last 18 years. In the early years passersby were generally hostile, or at best puzzled. As time went by, the passersby became more supportive, and we certainly hope that holds true in the face of any future military adventurism.
And we invite one and all to join us in any weather for our protest on the Aroostook River bridge in Presque Isle every Sunday from noon until 1 p.m.
Steve DeMaio, Easton
John and Johnnie Cancelarich, Presque Isle and Pennsylvania
Jim Fitzgerald, Ashland
Darrell Adams, Mars Hill
Carol Pierson, Caribou
Mike Lyng, Lee, Massachusetts
