Letter: Troops should have a say in Iraq policy

Sunday, April 29, 2007 | 7:26 a.m.

Our country is at a crossroads: Do we bring our troops home from Iraq before we "finish the job?" Do we bring them home slowly , i.e., small groups at a time? What should we do?

Well, we are a democracy. We value the opinions of our citizens, don't we? Don't we still value their opinions? What exactly does a typical citizen have to lose if we do nothing? Do they lose their limbs? Their lives?

The only ones who should be involved in this decision, it seems to me, are those who have the most involvement and the greatest risk. After all, our military leaders are not in agreement among themselves and neither are our political leaders. Our troops are certainly aware that we here at home are not in agreement about just what we should do. And they do care about their own future.

We need help in making such an important decision. If the war should escalate even further (i.e., North Korea, Iran), we would sure be in a pickle military-wise.

Let's let the world know that we are a true democracy and demonstrate that we do care about the lives of our military by letting the military personnel vote on their own future. Produce a ballot exclusively for our military for a vote of "yes" or "no" regarding continuing our war in Iraq. This can be done with a one-paragraph secret ballot at very small expense.

The world would then regain some respect for our nation, our military would have a much needed boost in morale and the results of the balloting will probably surprise many of us.

Sam Chinkes, Las Vegas