It's time to end the wars

Reported on Saturday, January 2, 2010

Dear Editor:

The more I read about these two foreign wars our government has gotten us involved in the more upset I become, and I have every right to feel this way, since I served in the Vietnam War. The high number of military suicides, and the numerous amounts of post traumatic syndrome cases our soldiers are suffering with, the more I don't understand why our government doesn't realize these wars are causing more harm then good for the American people. What could possibly be worth all of the suffering American families are going through right now, from the loss or critical injuries inflicted upon their loved ones, while fighting in these senseless conflicts in countries halfway around the world?

Our government officials must not have learned anything from our history of sticking our nose in other countries business like Vietnam. Do they remember America losing over 52,000 lives of military personnel, or over 300,000 who came home severely wounded both mentally and physically, and for what? The same communist government is still in power in Vietnam to this day, and now Americans are even touring in Vietnam, like it was some beautiful vacation spot. How many more American lives are we going to lose in foreign wars which will never benefit America in any way?

It makes more sense to be having our borders and internal structures in America being protected from outside infiltration from our enemies with our military in home defense. Our soldiers are much too vulnerable and unprotected in an environment like Iraq and Afghanistan, where they don't know who their real enemies are, and even when they do know who their enemies are they can't get to them, because they're either hiding in among innocent civilians, or they're held up in mountainous terrain only they are familiar with.

Now, we are hearing our President is about to increase the number of our military forces in Afghanistan in hopes it will end our involvement there sooner. President Nixon also tried this approach in Vietnam by sending more troops to further infiltrate into Laos and Cambodia, where he was informed more of our enemies were encamped. This action only proved to be more hopeless in defeating the North Vietnamese Armies causing only more American lives lost, and finally led to Nixon pulling our American forces out of Vietnam a short time later as a lost cause.

At what point, do we say "enough is enough" and as much as we as Americans want to stand behind, and support our military forces in any necessary war, if it is not directly benefiting the people of the United States of America, then how could it possibly be worth the loss of so many precious American lives?

John M. "Jack" Selby

Hometown