Billions spent on war haven’t brought us peace

Regarding the Aug. 28 editorial “Syria has crossed the line”: For us to bring about peace everyone should act to support increased diplomacy and the convening of an international summit of heads of state while increasing humanitarian assistance to help stop the killing. Chemical weapons have killed about 1,000 people, but the regular weapons have killed at least 40,000. Non-combatants have been the victims in both methods of destruction.

The real question is, does killing bring peace? We, as a nation, spend 60 percent of our tax dollars on our military and what has been the result in Iraq and Afghanistan? Have our billions sent to the military in Egypt brought peace?

We have more citizens in prison than any other nation. Hopefully, there is another way to bring peace at home and abroad. President Dwight D. Eisenhower warned us to beware of the military industrial complex.

Terri Nederhiser

Cedar Rapids