To the editor:
The Iraq war is in its sixth year. A Nobel prize winning economist, Mr. Jospeh Stiglitz, has estimated that the cost of the war will come to somewhere near three trillion dollars before it is over. This is a lot of money. You and I will pay the bill. Since the war has been fought on borrowed money, it is likely it will contribute greatly to inflation and a weaker dollar as time goes on. Much more severe than this is the loss in human life and in wounds which won’t heal. And we have sullied our reputation abroad, which means more difficulty in the future.
After so much time and trouble, it would seem obvious that we need to develop a timetable for leaving Iraq. Instead there is the persistent rumor that air strikes may be conducted against Iran, which would further widen the conflict. After everything else that has gone on, this seems absurd to contemplate.
Our own government’s intelligence estimate (from December of 2007) concluded that Iran stopped its nuclear weapons program several years ago. In March of this year the U.S. military commander in the Middle East, Admiral Fallon, indicated that air strikes against Iran would be unwise (he lost his job shortly after this – apparently the administration is not interested in honest evaluations as much as sticking to the party line). However, even though it doesn’t make sense for the public interest, there are some quarters that might see bombing Iran as a profitable course of action. The current Israeli government seems quite interested in this type of action. It would cause world oil prices to spike, which would boost returns for oil companies and their allies. The Saudi government is no friend of Iran either. So there are powerful interests that may favor an air strike against Iran.
This is a good time for us to work and advocate for peace as best we can. If there are terrorist outrages, we need to be very careful to know who perpetrated them before we take any retaliatory action. The previous government of Iraq, as bad as it was, had nothing to do with the September 11 attacks. Yet we have been caught in a six year long war there that is bleeding us physically and economically. I hate to say it, but if we don’t guard against it, we may lose our freedom in the name of fighting wars of liberation.
Presque Isle
