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Public Commentary Dear Editor: Fifteen Saudis, one Egyptian, one Lebanese and two men from the UAE are the people who killed the 344 Nassau County residents that Mr. Howell laments in his letter, along with 2, 629 others. There were no Iraqis found to be related to the 9/11 attacks in any way. Funding and organization for the terror attack were provided by Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda who were given sanctuary by the Taliban government of Afghanistan. The Iraq War is counterproductive. Contrary to our own interests, the Iraq War has been a great benefit to Iran (who has only become more powerful in the region). The Iraq war is responsible for the death of 3,970 American soldiers and more than 150,000 Iraqi civilians as of Feb. 21. The Iraq war has cost our economy almost $500 billion to date. As a result of the diversion of our resources to Iraq, Al Qaeda has grown and become more sophisticated and the Taliban has resurfaced as a more virulent and dangerous organization than they were when we originally invaded Afghanistan in October of 2001. News about how our economy, reputation, military readiness and morale have deteriorated since the beginning of the Iraq war can be seen and heard everywhere. A contributor to your newspaper, Mr. Howell should joint the rest of us here in the 21st century to see for himself the devastating effects of those Iraq war policies. Our country's infrastructure and quality of life have suffered under the Bush administration's misguided policies. Bridge collapses, poor road conditions, failing schools, inadequate and overpriced health care, an economy on the verge of recession and many other aspects of life in America have deteriorated as we struggle with an Iraq war that should never have been started. Mr. Howell, in defending this war, is factually wrong and, what is worse, morally wrong. The war is not now and has never been morally defensible. Jingoistic phrases and attitudes ("Iraq is the center of terrorism," "the surge is working," "there is not substitute for total victory") are putting people at risk in Iraq and contributing to the suffering of countless here at home. I believe that most of the candidates are discussing the Iraq war in sufficient detail for intelligent Americans to realize that it needs to end soon. They are discussing these issues in the context of what needs to be done to end America's failing policy toward an inept Iraqi government. Ending the Iraq war can make additional resources available to fight the battles we should be fighting against global terrorism and poverty, battles that Iraq has distracted us from.
Michael Wiplich, Babylon
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