Victory in Iraq wont bring peace
Editor:
Sgt. Ben Christensen has twice implied that the war in Iraq represents a clash of cultures and that a U.S. victory will create a better and safer world. However, millions in the United States and the world disagree with Sgt. Christensens assessment. Count me among those millions.
The United States-led war against Iraq has made the world more dangerous, while delaying attention to numerous domestic problems in the United States. It has opened the way for other countries like Russia, Israel and Sudan to name but three to do whatever they deem necessary (military force) to solve difficult political issues.
The United States unimaginative, though profitable for corporations, response to 9/11 started the world on a shoot-first-talk-maybe course, one that might last for decades.
Sgt. Christensen has said the United States actions in Iraq are correct, and he has also said that he is proud to be part of them. I would prefer that his talents and interests be used to further peace. Right now, Sgt. Christensens presence and actions in Iraq, ordered by well-heeled politicians in the pocket of war-loving and planet-destroying economic interests, are setbacks for peace, sustainable living and compromise.
If the war continues, and if the United States noises about Iran increase, Sgt. Christensens words about a clash of cultures might become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Stop the war now before religious, cultural and economic differences in Iraq and elsewhere grow to the point that no compromise is possible, and war, already at the head of many tables, becomes the main planetary menu.
Sgt. Christensen and thousands of other U.S. soldiers, and soldiers from the Coalition of the Willing, come home now unharmed and without harming the Iraqis, either!
Eugene Novogrodsky,
Brownsville,
Via the Internet
