Letter: Iraq war is waste of lives, money

Wednesday, June 8, 2005 | 9:14 a.m.

Following Pearl Harbor, the military had no trouble finding enlistees to fight against Japan. It would have been much more difficult to recruit Americans willing to die so that Stalin could control Eastern Europe, or Mao could rule China.

In similar fashion, military recruitment spiked following 9/11, as Americans enlisted out of a desire to avenge the attack and defend our country. As the Iraq war grinds on and evidence accumulates that the decision to go to war was rooted in dishonesty, fewer Americans are inclined to join the military. It's not surprising that Americans aren't eager to risk death or dismemberment to prop up an Iraqi regime dominated by radical Muslims.

The federal government is utterly shameless in wasting our money. It shouldn't surprise us to learn that it's been similarly profligate in wasting lives as well. Americans have never shirked the duty to defend our nation when it is genuinely threatened.

FRANK M. PELTESON

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