Honor veterans by not creating more of them

On Nov. 11, Armistice Day and Veterans Day, we honor veterans, alive and dead, who have served their country. I am suggesting that the best way to honor those veterans is to not create new veterans needlessly, and we may be doing that right now.

“Informed sources” say President Obama will soon announce an additional 30,000 troops to be sent to Afghanistan. Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, expects the Pentagon to ask for additional “emergency” funding for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. That's estimated to be $50 billion, which would be on top of the $130 billion already budgeted for those wars for fiscal year 2010.

We have been in Afghanistan eight years. We have not gotten Osama bin Laden, and the expanded war strategy isn't aimed at his capture. Who can explain why we are at war in Afghanistan, and what would define victory? While not answering those questions, “conventional” military “wisdom” says we need 10 years and 600,000 troops.

We are at a point where we can open the flood gates to a longer, costlier, bloodier, futile war, or we can say enough. Honor the veterans and use your citizen's voice, made possible by those veterans, to tell Obama and the Congress, enough.

Ed Flaherty

Iowa City