Five weeks ago, we posed a simple question. How many more dead and crippled American patriots, and how many billions of dollars, should our country invest in President George W. Bush's Iraqi folly?
At that time, 376 Americans had been killed and another 2,129 had been maimed in the war. Since then an additional 68 have lost their lives and another 355 have lost arms, legs or their eyesight, suffered horrible burns or gotten lucky and merely received bullet wounds. Another 27 Italians, Spaniards and other coalition troops have been killed and who knows how many Iraqi men, women and children.
We got some interesting responses.
A fellow named David Knapp of San Antonio, Texas, wrote to say that we should expend as much blood and treasure as it takes to "free" Iraq. He should enlist.
The overwhelming majority of replies opposed the war. John Slack of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., spoke for many.
"We should leave Iraq now. I don't want to hear about the resulting chaos for the Iraqis if we leave abruptly, there's chaos now," he wrote. "Our troops should fight and risk death for the freedom and stability of America, not Iraq."
Al and Dolores Haller of Tonawanda wrote an eloquent letter voicing the frustration of many Americans.
"Put us down for two against this sham of bringing democracy to the Middle East," they wrote. "Not only are our young men and women dying and being injured, but they are being treated like second-class citizens. Their families are suffering and sacrificing here at home."
Reporter reader John Rachwal -- who has contributed to our letters page in the past -- sent along a bunch of quotes from prominent Democrats concerning Iraq's debunked weapons of mass destruction program. He apparently thinks that, if the Democrats were as ill-informed as Republicans, all this killing is OK. By the way, we got the exact same e-mail from three other individuals who, unlike John, did not have the intestinal fortitude to sign their names.
And our old friend Ruth Nowak, the "Mayor of 22nd Street," suggested that Bush himself should have gone over to fight.
"I'm sure that then the war would have ended abruptly, or never would have been started at all," she wrote. "I grieve for our troops who had to go to Iraq to fight and die. My heart bleeds for their families' loss."
We couldn't agree more, Ruth.
| Niagara Falls Reporter | www.niagarafallsreporter.com | December 9 2003 |