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“There’s no question that Saddam Hussein is a threat... Yes, he has chemical and biological weapons.” — Wesley Clark on September 26, 2002.
“Hussein has chosen to spend his money on building weapons of mass destruction...” — Madeleine Albright, Clinton Secretary of State, Nov. 10, 1999.
“If Saddam rejects peace and we have to use force, our purpose is clear. We want to seriously diminish the threat posed by Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction program.” — Bill Clinton, Feb. 17, 1998.
I believe Bush and Congress made the right decision.
The U.S. created its own enemies
By MICHAEL WELCH | Tempe, Ariz.
I was against the war before it started. I had gotten involved with a group opposing the sanctions against Iraq, “Voices in the Wilderness,” led by a skinny, dedicated nun-like woman named Kathy Kelly.
I decided in 2002 to accompany a “Voices”-sponsored group to Iraq. We observed conditions caused by the sanctions that looked pretty bad, in health care especially. But overall the country seemed to be recovering.
I once attended a “town meeting” of U.S. Rep. Ron Kind in which by far the overwhelming majority of people who bothered to come were against authorizing the war. Later the media (including the Trib) made it seem that there were rather fewer anti-war people than there actually were. Kind, as he always does in political situations, listened graciously but expressed little; the sense that he would support the war had a sinking inevitability.
It only took the administration propaganda machine to kick in with the media as its major conduit; I knew the war too was “inevitable” and unnecessary.
I didn’t, I must admit, expect the war to go on; I thought the United States would find a compliant general to act as the usual “front man” dictator.
But the devastation of Saddam’s regime opened the Shiite-Sunni divide and the power vacuum (plus the incompetence of the Bushite occupation) “allowed” al-Qaida its entrance. The supreme irony is that the United States created its own enemy, first in the public mind, then in reality...
Michael Welch is a former La Crosse resident.
We must finish the job in Iraq
By STEVE GORES | La Crosse
It’s hard to remember now, but five years ago President Bush’s now controversial decision to topple Saddam Hussein’s clearly repressive and dangerous regime had broad public support.
Our own Congressman Ron Kind reflected this majority feeling when voting to authorize use of American military force if necessary to ensure that Saddam could not threaten this country with weapons of mass destruction.
Also, although his links with the al-Qaida terrorists were never proven conclusively, it’s clear he meant to do everything he could to further their destructive aims. Our U.S. military deserves great credit for ridding the world of this menace to peace.
I would agree with GOP presidential candidate John McCain that we need to finish this physical and political reconstruction job properly. We owe it to both the Iraqi people and to ourselves to ensure a stable future there. To do any less would dishonor the sacrifices and progress we’ve already made.
May God have mercy on us
By GAIL B. VAUGHN | La Crosse
The Iraq war, five years on:
Obscene, tragic beyond comprehension, costly beyond repair. We have drained our nation of blood and treasure in order to ruin another nation. The damage from all this can never be undone.
With our whole planet so fragile and in need of intensive care, the last thing we need to buy is still more war. And yet our politicians continue to sign blank checks for billions
($500 billion so far), money that doesn’t even exist, money that our grand-grandchildren will be asked to pay, so that the war can be fed, the misery can continue.
May God have mercy on us for such wanton destruction visited so needlessly upon the millions of people of Iraq. And may God grant us, somehow, not to do it again, just as needlessly, to Iran.
Winning is the only option
By MEL HOFFMAN | La Crosse
After five years of the second Iraq war, my thoughts are these: First and foremost, our volunteer-soldiers deserve our utmost honor and respect for what they are doing for us and, ultimately, for the world (which so under-appreciates them). Having said that, and regardless of the “how” and “why” we went to war (which I supported and continue to support based upon the stubborn refusal of Saddam Hussein to permit weapons inspectors in the face of numerous U.N. Resolutions warning of the consequences), I am angry that the administration stuck by Rumsfeld’s “minimal force” doctrine instead of following Powell’s “overwhelming force” doctrine.
I am equally angry that our troops were not provided with protective equipment adequate to deal with the threats they have faced. And I am frustrated with the Iraqi government (such as it is) for failing to have the courage to match our costly effort to help them create a stable environment for their citizens. As for our old so-called “allies” in Europe (other than Britain), they will not escape the impact of radical Islam. Normandy was a long time ago, and memories are short.
Despite my anger and frustration, simply quitting is no option either. Our acts and neglects have created an obligation to the Iraqi people to prevent a civil war. Therefore, “winning” is the only viable option — whatever that will mean in the hindsight of history.
The war hurt our economy, too
By HAROLD RISTOW | La Crosse
I watched C-Span on the observance of the fifth anniversary of our invasion of Iraq. Just about every one who called in agreed that the invasion of Iraq by the American military was about the worst foreign policy decision in our nations history.
But when they were asked, “What do you think we should do now?” many said in effect, that now that we are in Iraq we should stay until we complete the job. No one seemed to know just what “complete the job” really meant. Did they mean that we should stay until we have eradicated all of the Sunni Muslims? Or did they mean that we should kill off all of the Shiite Muslims? This is a ridiculous position to take.
One caller to C-Span was a realist and practical. He said the war in Iraq is just fine with him, as he bought some stock in Halliburton and Exxon-Mobil and he has never had it so good.
This has been not only a foreign policy mistake, it has seriously caused problems in our economy and the lives of many people. The war in Iraq should be terminated just as rapidly as possible. Whether we stay in Iraq or leave , there will still be the same problems in that area.
What have we gained from wars?
By SHARON HAMPSON | La Crosse
On this anniversary of the Iraq invasion and occupation, it seems fitting to assess what we have gotten out of it. Soldiers and their families have had their lives disrupted, sometimes repeatedly. Some are dead, many more are seriously injured and untold numbers have lasting psychological damage. The economy is sagging and out of balance under the heavy weight of the billions of dollars spent on the “war.”
But it’s not all bad news; several large multinational corporations are even more wealthy than they were before. Oil company profits are the highest in the history of the world. Meanwhile, energy prices are higher than anyone even thought possible. Does this add up? Not even close. The actual goal was to occupy a large oil-producing nation, not to set them free.
It is clear that we are doomed to be there for decades to come. That may be OK with John McCain, but it’s not OK with me.
Perhaps the case could have been made for striking out at Afghanistan, but where has that gotten us? Osama bin-Laden is still at large and poppy production is booming. Meanwhile, we have carried on where the Russians and the Taliban left off in destroying what little civilization Afghanistan had. Neither of these “wars” is truly justified and both should be ended as quickly as possible. When will we learn?
Violence begets more of the same
By MARY PAT HILL | La Crosse
Violence begets violence. War begets terrorism, deaths of noncombatants by the thousands, environmental destruction, refugees, poverty, and unmet basic human needs. President Eisenhower, a former general, warned of this in 1953: “Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. The world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children.”
He experienced misplaced priorities as “humanity hanging on a cross of iron.” These words are even more poignant today and speak to my underlying opposition to all war.
Due to the preemptive Iraq war, torture and illegal wiretapping, and the loss of habeas corpus, U.S. standing in the world has dramatically decreased. We are not safer; terrorists are not disarmed by violence but rather are emboldened.
We have models for facing injustice and bringing social change: Gandhi, Nelson Mandela and Martin Lluther King. They acted courageously and nonviolently to change our world.
Within a world facing global warming, environmental destruction, poverty, epidemics, displaced peoples and limited resources, we also need to choose creative and nonviolent ways of seeing, thinking, and acting to help build a just, peaceful, and sustainable world.
War brought day of reckoning
By MATT DAVIS | Holmen, Wis.
In the year 2000, we held an election. Two Democratic populists were up against two oil company executives. The majority of people voted for the Democrats, but legal maneuvers led to a vote by the electoral college for the oil company executives.
Shortly after, we experienced senseless violence on a national scale. Proud Americans everywhere stood up, enlisted and did whatever they could to ensure this would not happen again, and that those responsible would stand accountable for their crime. Our bravest, those who protect our nation, died. Families grieved, and continue to mourn to this day.
Eventually, our nation came to a day of reckoning, with a collapsing economy, a worn-out military and a grim outlook. My thought on the Iraq war? Let’s vow to never, ever make this mistake again.
A war against terrorism
By BOB WATESKI | La Crosse
People just don’t understand.
After 9/11, everyone was all for getting the terrorist and then when our president stands up and says enough is enough, the yellow stripes start showing.
The Democrats supported the war by voting for it when it was popular, but then just like Vietnam, they turned tail and ran. If we were to pull out of Iraq right now, like the two wannabes running for president say they would, you would have mass murder taking place in Iraq.
I am a Vietnam veteran and am totally against this pullout of our troops when we are winning. Yes we are, but you won’t see the media say that because they would have to admit they were wrong.
You don’t broadcast military plans to the public during war time. It is pure stupidity to keep crying in letters that they won’t post a pullout date. Use some common sense, if you have any and think for once.
If we’re in it, let’s win it
By TOM PETERS | La Crosse
I remember Colin Powell addressing the United Nations. He believed the intelligence he was briefing. This means most of our leaders must have too. Hillary Clinton and John Kerry voted for the war as did the great majority. We have no idea, as the general public, what volumes of intelligence was used in their decisions. Saddam Hussein was giving out $25,000 to anyone that would kill an Israeli.
The decision was made and we invaded. A lot of people don’t remember we are at war. It was declared when we were attacked by Osama bin Laden in 2001, and it hasn’t been won yet.
Don’t you remember everybody waving American Flags and all the patriotism being shown? Yes we lost a lot of men and women but all the survivors I’ve been in contact with say we are doing the right thing. Are we better off fighting al-Qaida in Iraq or would it be better that they were here on our streets?
If we’re going to be in it lets win it. Don’t forget those who died on 9/11.
The Iraq war: Then and now
By VINCE HATT | La Crosse
It is 6:40 p.m. March 20, 2003. I am among the first of about 50 people arriving at Our Savior Lutheran Church, La Crosse, for a peace vigil.
I am feeling angry and sad. How could President Bush, a professed Christian, start a war? A TV reporter approaches and asks if I would answer a couple of questions on camera. I wonder if I can say something insightful in 10 seconds.
The questions were something like: Did I think being here would change anything? Would I support the troops?
I said something like: I wasn’t here to change anything. I was here so I wouldn’t be changed.
And yes, I would support the troops. I would pray for them and their families. And I would pray for the Iraqis, too. I feared far more of them than Americans would be killed.
I watched the news that night. I was on for 10 seconds. What they used wasn’t particularly insightful.
Today, five years later, I am more sad. I still support the troops. I continue to pray for them and their families. I am willing to listen lovingly to their pain, the pain of their children and the pain of their children’s children as I have done for the veterans of Vietnam.
I am no longer angry. I just don’t have the energy for it anymore.
Media have been remiss
By ROSE EDDY | Cashton, Wis.
The media have been sadly remiss both in gathering and disseminating news about what our troops are doing there day after day.
If, from the beginning, the media had provided forth-right coverage of the conflict and the politics behind it, there would have been an outpouring of protest, and more than 3,000 American lives could have been spared as well as thousands from physically and mentally crippling injuries.
Our troops did an exemplary job of ousting the Taliban and bringing stability in Afghanistan. Iraq had no terrorists to speak of until the “war on terrorism” came calling to create a legacy for George W. Bush.
Ironically, he will go down in history as the president who, by a pompously relentless drive to remain at war, led the strongest, most prosperous nation in the world to a state of friendless, economic and social debilitation.
What have we learned in 40 years?
By JAMES R. PARKER | La Crosse
Forty years ago the nation was engaged in a war, the precipitating cause of which was contrived. As thousands of innocent civilians have died in the past five years, so then it was millions. As then, thousands of American soldiers have died and tens of thousands are seriously wounded.
As then, our willingness to care for our veterans requires constant scrutiny as federal officials fail to provide the injured with full assistance. As then, the ill-defined goals remain unreachable, and often-foolish strategies miss the mark.
Unlike then, we actually debate a policy of torture variously called the water cure or waterboarding that was declared barbaric and unacceptable 100 years ago after the Philippine “Insurrection.” Except for the Women in Black, I have serious doubts about our ability to think ethically or act courageously.
James R. Parker is a retired history professor at the University of Wisconsin-
La Crosse.
Good from war is under-reported
By WILLIAM FASCHING | Viroqua, Wis.
I support the war in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as the great work our armed forces are doing there. The good that is being done is vastly under- reported by the press.
We are at war with Islamic Jihadists who want us dead and have attacked us repeatedly over the years. (U.S. Embassy in Kenya, USS Cole, first and second World Trade Center attacks, to name just a few.)
Unfortunately, President Clinton did little to nothing to address this issue, thus emboldening the terrorists and leading to the devastating attacks of 9/11, which should have destroyed our economy, but thankfully, did not.
It is also important to note that we have not been attacked here at home since 9/11. It should also be noted that regime change in Iraq was official U.S. policy before the war and that major intelligence agencies around the world believed that Saddam Hussein has weapons of mass destruction, and we do know that he had used them on his own people.
We need to finish the job in Iraq and Afghanistan. It’s far better to deal with our enemies over there than to have their deadly treachery and destruction on our home soil.
The war was based on lies
By CHARLES and LEE RODMAN | La Crosse
The invasion of Iraq was based on lies. Five years of acting on those lies has produced untold human suffering and massive waste of resources and dollars. We must end this travesty now.
Clergy statement on the Iraq war
By THE REV. KENT JOHNSON | La Crosse
As Christians gather this Holy Week, the cross of Jesus Christ confronts us with our sin and failure, and reminds us of our need for forgiveness and reconciliation. Specifically, we recognize the suffering and pain caused by our use of power in pursuing war in Iraq. Not only have we experienced loss and suffering in our own families and communities, but we share in the suffering of our Iraqi sisters and brothers.
On this fifth anniversary of the Iraq war, we pastors of the greater La Crosse community, call on our friends and neighbors to bow down in prayer before a gracious God. We pray for justice for those who have been treated unjustly; we pray for wisdom for our national leaders; we pray for strength and compassion for those in the military; and we pray for mercy and forgiveness for all of God’s people. May the promise and hope incarnate in God’s love sustain us now and always.
This letter also was signed by the Revs. Jim Arends, Patrick Augustine, David Bersagel, Michael Gorman, Taylor Haley, Diane Martin, Curtis Miller, Mark Pierce, Mary Ramsay, Mark Solyst and Joan Sulser.
War, destruction: What does it bring?
By BOB SCHNEYER | La Crosse
While war has been around since the first cave man threw a rock into the second cave man’s dwelling, it has always been extremely expensive in terms of personal grief and economic destruction. It intensifies differences and pushes them to a level where any move
toward resolution gets overtaken by the desire to inflict pain. “You hurt me. Now it’s your turn.”
Five years ago we launched the war in Iraq to protect and defend ourselves. We were still raw from 9/11. Our sophisticated technology and military power almost insured victory. Here we are five years later. Getting into the blame game of course is of little use. That’s another form of war.
War is seductive and contagious. It’s our most primitive response, and our most expensive. But now what do we do? In Iraq? In Afghanistan? In Palestine? Iran? On and on.
Solomon, where are you when we need you?
Stay the course in Iraq, Afghanistan
By JAN REUTER | Onalaska, Wis.
We need to stay the course in Iraq and Afghanistan because of al-Qaida and its ideology.
Al-Qaida’s goal is to get the United States out of the region and come to power in the Islamic countries of the region. From there, their goal is to establish a Caliphate (under a single Islamic ruler) that goes from the Atlantic in North Africa to Indonesia in the Pacific. Fifty years after this happens, their goal is to rule the rest of the world.
We are at a period now that is similar to the 1920s where communism and Nazism had not taken hold in Russia and Germany. Al-Qaida has not taken hold in any country in the Middle East. We need to make certain that does not happen, but it is a long problem with a long commitment.
Our troops have the confidence, courage and competence to win. We need the will of the American people to be sustained for the long haul.
Solution political, not military
By GERALD KANN | La Crosse
We went into Iraq too early because of the anticipated heat and couldn’t wait for more foreign support. First mistake.
Now we are mired in the door-to-door conflict we said we would not be involved in.
The American public could have accepted a couple of years ago the administration telling us and the world we had three objectives for going into Iraq:
We could have been told our objectives have been achieved and could have begun withdrawing our troops with our heads held high both in this country and the world.
The American public erroneously thinks the biggest concern we have is the economy. Wrong. It is a war that is costing us $10.3 billion per month!
The solution in Iraq is no longer a military one but a political one.
When will we ever learn?
By P.M. McKNIGHT | Holmen, Wis.
My feelings about the war have not changed. When the administration began the talk about going into Iraq, I did not believe the intelligence reports the administration was putting out.
I was a college student during the Vietnam War. I did not protest then, because a part of me wanted to believe our government officials did what was best. Since that time, I no longer do. I joined marchers when they protested the war before the invasion began.
History has shown invading forces have had few successes. We didn’t “succeed” in Vietnam and never would no matter how long we stayed. The Russians didn’t “succeed” in Afghanistan. The British couldn’t “succeed” in the American Colonies.
Vietnam divided this country and the healing has taken decades. This war is going to bankrupt this country and it will take decades to recover from such a flawed policy.
“When will we ever learn?”
Take action as citizens
By BRENT LARSON and MARY NEWGARD-LARSON | Onalaska, Wis.
At what cost?
To what end?
How much are we willing to allow?
Decide. Vote. Act.
This is our duty as citizens.
The Iraq war was a blunder
By JERRY HAAVIND | Stoddard, Wis.
I admit that I was with the majority. I finally supported the Iraqi War based on Colin Powell’s slanted testimony at the United Nations and a Wisconsin Public Radio broadcast featuring some people who’d been tortured by Saddam’s cronies.
My first opinion had been that this war was a distraction from fighting the people who caused 9/11. I wondered also about former Marine and U.N. weapons inspector Scott Ritter’s statement that Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction. This was a credible person who was on the ground and should know what was really happening. The Bush administration had flatly called Ritter wrong.
Saddam, you recall, had kicked the inspectors out. Saddam, later during his imprisonment, admitted he wanted Iran to believe he had WMDs. I believed then that there was no al-Qaida in Iraq (and there wasn’t) because by all accounts, Osama bin Laden was not friendly with that regime. Now, al-Qaida does exist in Iraq — because it’s a breeding ground for that umbrella organization to gain new recruits and power. Yes, we’re now helping build a stronger al-Qaida in Iraq even as our CIA is quietly, with the help of our allies, eliminating terrorist cells throughout the world.
I look forward to cheering our troops home.
Don’t forget Sept. 11, 2001
By DARRELL HILL | Viroqua, Wis.
The cowards who flew airplanes into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and the Pennsylvania countryside, killing innocent people, are responsible for an egregious attack on American soil that should have made you mad. Their actions triggered a response that Americans overwhelmingly supported. Now, years later, the response continues.
Leaving Iraq and Afghanistan without a clear victory, without establishing human dignity for the Iraqi and Afghan people, will tell the entire world that America is not as we purport it to be. A world without war is a beautiful dream, but the harsh reality is that all mankind will probably never agree on everything.
However, Americans can agree on supporting our military personnel. It is a noble cause, whether or not one agrees with the war. My own son served in Iraq with the 101st Airborne (now a University of Wisconsin-La Crosse student), and I am deeply proud of him. Our all-volunteer troops deserve our respect and prayers.
They, and all veterans before them, have a higher and honorable calling and are willing to sacrifice in order to allow the United States of America to remain a wonderful country that continues to stand for freedom and what is good in a not-so-perfect world.
We should have let inspectors work
By KEN KITTLESON | Sparta, Wis.
Five years ago, the Bush/Cheney team rushed the United States into the Iraq war without letting the United Nations finish its assigned task of searching for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
The United States had a centuries-old reputation of not being an aggressor nation, a reputation that was important to many Americans including myself, and one that apparently meant nothing to the Bush/Cheney duo as they pushed a pre-emptive unilateral strike against Iraq.
Had they been more patient and less cowboy, they could have waited until the United Nations reached its conclusion that there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. And we would have saved face, thousands of lives, and trillions of dollars just by waiting a month or two.
U.S. bellicose; media complicit
By BRIAN LAVELLE | Spring Grove, Minn.
To the deep shame of a complicit U.S. media, we now find our nation embroiled in energy wars globally.
Our soldiers should return home immediately. Contracts with mercenaries should be canceled, prosecutions for war crimes should be pursued, to the top. War profiteers need to be prosecuted and funds recovered. Reinstitute the draft. We need to return to the rule of law. Iraq needs to heal, and we need to fund its reconstruction.
The only way to heal ourselves is to repudiate all that has been done illegally in our names for oil and influence. We must impeach this administration immediately. We cannot afford to have this demented junta expand war.
The world economy is in a slow-motion train wreck because of United States’ bellicose invasion and occupation of Iraq. The United States has opened the flood gates to extremism on all sides.
Show solidarity for the Iraqi people
By CATHY VAN MAREN | La Crosse
The conquest of Iraq has been one big, long lie and we are paying dearly for it. Anyone supporting this debacle should sign up immediately to take the place of someone on his or her third or fourth tour or volunteer to support a brain-injured vet for the rest of her or his life.
If that’s inconvenient, show your solidarity with the Iraqi people by turning off your electricity for 10 hours a day. Wait in long lines to get a little gas for your car.
Get your drinking water out of the gutter. Don’t feed your children or go to a doctor or get any medicine. Leave your home or invite a dozen relatives to come and share it with you. Leave your job.
Burn your money. Imagine every person you meet might kidnap, rape or kill you. Imagine that you might be thrown in prison, tortured and never seen again without any charges. This is the “freedom” your war has wrought. It should end now.
What’s the reason for the Iraq war?
By STEVE ENGBER | Onalaska, Wis.
The most stunning aspect of the second Iraq War is the total lack of a coherent explanation for it. Having had all stated rationales long since debunked, the perpetrators have fallen back on decreasing rates of failures as “progress.”
Before 9/11 the administration was treating the government’s most valued assets — translators, independent intelligence analysts, and cultural experts — with blatant disrespect. It is highly likely that the information laying out the events of Sept. 11, 2001, long prior to FISA, was on surveillance tapes waiting to be translated.
As with all such tragic mistakes, the astonishing costs that accompany it are but a down payment of that to come. Who do we think are the ultimate targets of the weapons we’re giving tribesmen vowing to fight al-Qaida in Iraq? What did we think would happen by eliminating Iran’s two main rivals? “When your only tool is a hammer, all your problems look like nails.” We need new tools.
Poor judgment by the president
By BOB COE | La Crosse
Invading and then occupying Iraq was poor judgment on our president’s part. This war follows the debacle we had in Vietnam where many of our troops were killed or injured for life and an enormous amount of money unwisely spent with really nothing at all gained or accomplished from it.
We could argue that this Iraq War eliminated further major terrorist attacks on the United States, but in my opinion this would not have had happened.
A much better plan would have been to use our military troops and armaments and the millions of dollars spent in supporting this war to provide a major defense system within our own country to counter terrorist attacks.
Iraq unlike Germany and Japan in World War II, is just too small to cause a major threat to the world, but probably will always remain a place to harbor terrorists. Whoever becomes our next president will have a major decision about whether we stay in Iraq or tactfully withdraw, saving lives and expense. And, to stay or withdraw may be the key reason our next president is elected.
End this fiasco; bring troops home
By VICKI ASH | La Crosse
My thoughts on the Iraq “war” are that it can’t be compared to any other military action the United States has been involved in because it was an invasion.
The United States was not attacked by Iraq. To the best of my knowledge, this country has never been the aggressor — until now. We have always defended ourselves or come to the aid of other countries at their request.
It’s been five years of occupation and some projections are that we could be there many more years. Some military personnel are going on their fifth tour of duty in Iraq. This “war” has lasted longer than America’s involvement in World War II.
The American people have paid an economic, physical, and emotional toll for what? Our government isn’t even taking good care of returning wounded veterans. Some of them are even being asked to return signing bonuses because they can’t complete their enlistments.
The time has come to let the Iraqi people govern themselves and be responsible for their own destiny. We fought our revolutionary war so that we could do just that. Why would we expect less of anyone else? Our founding fathers didn’t let another country come here and govern us after our liberation.
It’s time to end this fiasco in Iraq and bring our troops home.
An illegal and immoral war
By CHUCK YOUNG | Holmen, Wis.
I believe we have been engaged in an illegal, immoral war in Iraq for five years. Our president and his administration lied to us repeatedly to get us into this war.
David Krieger, president of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, has written an exceptional article entitled “Accountability for the Iraq War” in which he asserts that there has been no accountability for a whole host of atrocities committed by Bush and his administration.
He refers to the nearly 4,000 of our men and women killed in service, the millions of Iraqis killed and wounded, the use of “depleted uranium” weapons, the use of which is poisoning the earth, air and water of Iraq and causing serious health problems to Iraqis and coalition soldiers.
It seems there is no accountability for much of anything. Our leaders have been abject failures regarding holding this administration accountable for torture and for becoming a nation that spies on it’s citizens. As our valiant soldiers offer their lives for our democracy, our leaders do nothing as our president and his minions do more damage to our Constitution and Bill of Rights, and our democracy than any terrorist could possibly accomplish.
It’s time to bring this illegal, immoral war to an end, and change policy to reflect a more humane, sensible, and peaceful approach to foreign policy
Damn those liberals!
By MARK L. TAYLOR | Genoa, wis.
After five long years of gross incompetence, warped strategy and venal exploitation of fear only one thing is left to say: The liberal opponents of Bush’s War on Iraq were right.
At some $2 trillion, near 4,000 American dead, 25,000-plus wounded and hundreds of thousands of Iraqi killed and wounded neocon promises of a short, sweet, self-funded war are but ghastly echoes. Weary Iraqis, we were assured, would greet us with candies and rose petals. Reality was roadside bombs and charred bodies of Americans strung up before cheering crowds.
Instead of championing democracy the Bush War on Iraq is best symbolized by the political pornography of prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib and the disgrace of torture officially sanctioned by American leadership. We have soiled ourselves and terrorist recruiters worldwide have used that to their advantage to keep the ranks of suicide bombers filled.
Rather than a true, lasting coalition to confront terrorist criminals we now find ourselves marginalized and ridiculed. As the American dollar falls across world markets and oil sells over $100 a barrel we continue to put our bombs and warplanes on the national tab and drive our economy straight into the ground.
Wilting in the heat of pro-war bullying most Democrats enabled the rush to war. Sen. Feingold was the courageous exception. Rep. Ron Kind the pathetic rule.
If you review the liberal opposition in the year leading up to the war you’ll find all of this was predictable. Damn those liberals, they were right!
This war is illegal
By JUNE KJOME | La Criosse
Five years ago, when our government invaded Iraq, I thought, “this war is illegal, based on lies and misinformation, morally indefensible and ethically wrong.” I am of the same opinion still. The incredible death and suffering inflicted on the people of Iraq, our military personnel and the environment is beyond the understanding of it. America has lost the respect, admiration and our moral leadership role in the world. We have become a pariah on the international scene.
We need to reflect and repent of our enormous responsibility for this debacle, Keeping troops there is the cause of the sustained violence. And we need leaders in the White House and in Congress who have the moral courage to act to end this war.
End the war now! And use the money for schools, housing, health care and food for the hungry.
Remember shock and awe?
By PEG UMHOEFER | La Crosse
I’m in shock that this war has gone on longer then World War II with no end in sight.
I’m in awe of the audacity of our president who says we must stay the course. Meanwhile the loss of life of both our brave solders and the Iraq people is totally unacceptible,.
We need need new, strong (not stubborn) moral and intelligent leadership to bring this fiasco to a close as soon as possible. I think what we could have done with the billions of dollars here at home that have now quite literally gone up in smoke.
The quandry is: Do we just walk away? What obligations do we have to families on both sides of this reckless and ill-concieved war!
This is what strong, intelligent, new leadership must deal with. My thoughts and prayers are with them.
A disastrous five-year war
By BARBARA and DONALD FRANK | La Crosse
These five years have been disastrous. This senseless war, launched with misinformation and outright lies, has brought so much grief to so many. The nearly 4,000 U.S. deaths and over 300 coalition casualties, the 30,000 U.S. wounded — many terribly damaged in mind and body, and the 90,000 Iraqi deaths — by some estimates that number is as high as 200,000, all reflect the terrible toll this war has taken.
There are other casualties as well. The $3 trillion to $5 trillion squandered and wasted on this invasion could have been spent on reducing our runaway national debt. Those dollars could have been used to address global warming — the very urgent and growing threat our nation and the planet is facing.
They could have helped with new clean energy technologies and strategies, with safe, healthy, sustainable food production, with rebuilding our aging infrastructure, and with providing affordable health care for our citizens. Largely due to this costly military operation the U.S. dollar is now at an all time low against the Euro and the Yen.
In addition we have lost the good will of the world. We have become an arrogant global player, war mongering, and adopting unspeakably cruel practices that violate the Geneva Convention, and that fly in the face of the humanitarian nation we have presumed ourselves to be.
It’s time we attempt to make amends, to back off on the hubris of empire. It’s global cooperation, not conflict, that the world needs. Let’s invest in that.
'Cry havoc and release the dogs of war'
By BONNIE PICKETT | La Crosse
Since President Bush said, “Bring them on,” we’ve seen:
Nearly 4,000 American soldiers die.
Over 29,395 American soldiers sustain injuries, many severely life-changing.
An estimated 89,000 to 600,000 Iraqi people killed.
Four million plus Iraqis displaced, their homes destroyed, loved ones killed or maimed, families broken.
How do I react? With shock and awe:
Shock at the hubris of an American government that conducts a pre-emptive strike based on lies.
Awe at the arrogance of a government that says it is unpatriotic to question its actions or to disagree with its decisions.
Disappointment at a media that, instead of seeking and disseminating truth, chooses to imbed itself in the war effort not only physically but also mentally by its tacit acceptance through failure to ask vital questions.
Anger at a government that seeks to control its citizens through fear.
Ineffable sadness at the number of people who have lost loved ones and had their lives irrevocably damaged by this war, in the United States and in Iraq.
Shame at the knowledge that torture of prisoners by Americans has taken place and is still allowed.
Wonder at what must be the reaction of Iraqi people who struggle to have the basic necessities while they watch the construction of a U.S. embassy projected to cost more than $1 billion.
President Bush did indeed, as Shakespeare said: “Cry havoc and release the dogs of war.”
Monstrous assault on our planet
By ELLEN A. MOORE | La Crosse
Upon the fifth anniversary of George Bush’s petulant need to rise up in the aftermath of 9/11 and “heroically” and mindlessly against advice of the world’s leaders, bomb someone (he, Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld chose Iraq), we stand surveying the ongoing monumental historical unprovoked wreckage.
Untold numbers of innocent Iraqis are dead or critically wounded. Women, children and male youth rose in defense. Numbers of our own innocent male and female youth are rendered dead or maimed for the remainder of their lives, having responded to their president’s lies to attack those non-enemies.
The major pollution of the world by our airplanes and weapons of mass destruction has contributed to global warming. Priceless and irreplaceable antiquities of the culture seated in their homeland, part of the Fertile Crescent, birthplace of western civilization are missing or damaged.
Trillions and trillions of dollars from this war continue to cost us each day, week and month, wreaking havoc on our budgets and deficits.
It also impinges grossly on our quality of life — our taxes going up and up, our buying power significantly reduced and our economy seriously impaired, while he cuts taxes of the ultra rich. The ultimate spoiled child, Bush doesn’t mention or consider, or budget for these costs of his horrific extravaganza. It is an unequalled presidential folly.
Can’t we stop this tragic, monstrous assault on humanity and our planet?
No sanctuary for terrorists
By JAMES P. GRENISEN | La Crosse
World War II ended in 1945 victoriously with the unconditional surrender of Japan and Germany.
In June 1950 communist units of the North Korean Army burst across the 38th Parallel on order from Joseph Stalin and pushed south toward Pusan, South Korea.
In September 1950 Gen. Douglas MacArthur ordered an amphibious assault at Inchon, crossed the 38th Parallel and headed north to end the war. On Oct. 14, 1950, the Chinese had already crossed the Yalu with 180,000 “volunteers.” The Chinese were afforded sanctuary. American planes were denied hot pursuit and the bombings of bases in Manchuria. Gen. MacArthur had fought the Chinese with his hands tied. The Korean Conflict ended in a stalemate as a result from sanctuary.
In Vietnam, the war ended in defeat as a result of affording sanctuary to the North Vietnamese. President Lyndon Johnson was told by his closest advisor in 1965, “we cannot win and if the North Vietnamese run out of troops, the Chinese will send in volunteers, Russian and China do not intend us to win.”
The war in Iraq should have ended with our occupation and the free election of the new sovereign government of Iraq. Al-Qaida has since moved into Iraq with Iran’s assistance furnishing more sophisticate weapons and bombs to kill American and Iraqi troops. Terrorists have sanctuary in Iran.
International law and the Geneva Convention allows a sovereign state the right of self-help and self-defense. Iraq’s president should advise Iran that furnishing weapons to al- Qaida will not be tolerated and if one American or Iraqi soldier or civilian is killed with weapons furnished by Iran, there will be reprisal: Iran’s only oil refinery will be taken out by Iraq.
The international community cannot blame Americans and we would not be involved in any operation. Even if we should furnish Iraq with the cruise missile to take out the oil refinery, they cannot complain as they have been furnishing weapons to al-Qaida. This should shorten the war and we would be able to bring our troops home soon.
Who speaks for the Iraqi people?
By GUY WOLF | Stoddard, Wis.
It's been five years since the Iraqi War began, and I am still wondering why we have no real idea as Americans what the average Iraqis believe about their lives, their futures, their hopes and dreams. Our viewpoints about the state of affairs in Iraq have come from the president, U.S. generals, U.S. soldiers, U.S. political leaders, opposition leaders, a 1st world reporter or a poll taken by foreign reporters.
To date, the war has been given to Americans from a extremely narrow viewpoint. I would call it embedded propaganda. Why are the newswires virtually silent about the realities of Iraq from an average Iraqi?
Who should speak for the people in Iraq? Would people say that President Bush speaks for Americans? Would the citizens of La Crosse say that Rep. Ron Kind speaks for the people of La Crosse? How many Americans trust the government for information or the media?
One of the greatest reforms that would assist Iraqi in its time of transistion would be a media that is free, unfettered, and represents all viewpoints. If Americans are serious about spreading democracy, they need to begin by opening the press to free, unfettered access to all opinions and people in Iraq and in America.
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