LTE: Past time to get out of Iraq

From John Reiger:

Here (below) is my letter-2-editor that was printed in the Sacramento Bee today, Fri. 5/27/11. It was in response to a story that Gates hoped the Iraqi's would invited the US to stay on militarily. In light of recent demonstrations in Iraq, I'm hoping that will not happen. Too many dead and injured troops already!!

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Defense Secretary Gates now wants the Iraqis to invite us to stay. I suppose that’s an improvement over our uninvited invasion. But how crazy is it that after we've illegally invaded their country and bombed them back into third world living conditions, we are now asking them to ask us to stay?

Let’s hope the Iraqi government does not do this. Although Americans seem to think the war in Iraq is over, American troops are still being killed and injured there. American money is still being wasted on a military occupation that has no real military purpose.

The only Americans who should be in Iraq are civilian reconstruction helpers. The only U.S. money spent on Iraq should be used to help that devastated country rebuild. We have a moral obligation to help them rebuild, and moral and financial reasons to end our military presence.

John C. Reiger

President, Chapter 87
Veterans For Peace

http://www.sacbee.com/2011/05/27/3657816/letters-to-the-editor.html