Letter to the Editor:

Country should stay course in only one war

David L. Sullivan, Las Vegas

Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2009 | 2:03 a.m.

I read George Will’s columns, and admire his intellect and command of the English language.

As a knee-jerk rad-lib, I seldom agree with his politics. I am forced, however, to acknowledge the correctness of his column published in Friday’s Las Vegas Sun, on the case for leaving Iraq.

The column’s last paragraph is good advice: “If, in spite of contrary evidence, the U.S. surge permanently dampened sectarian violence, all U.S. forces can come home sooner than the end of 2010. If, however, the surge did not so succeed, U.S. forces must come home sooner.”

And, as he wrote, “whenever U.S. forces leave, Iran will still be Iraq’s neighbor.” I think the U.S. can let the Iraqi Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds resume their ancient internal struggles. Of course, this might preclude our control of Iraq’s oil (the real reason for Operation Iraqi Freedom) — but so be it.

In an earlier column last week, in which he contended that it was time to get out of Afghanistan, Mr. Will suggested that “forces be substantially reduced to serve a comprehensively revised policy: America should do only what can be done from offshore.”

I do not agree with Mr. Will on Afghanistan, however. As Bob Jack proposed in his letter to the editor on the same day as Will’s Iraq column ran, our military attention should be directed to the Taliban, al-Qaida, and Osama bin Laden.

I would increase our troop presence in Afghanistan, get Pakistan on the same page, and root out the real terrorist threats. That was the legitimate reason for Operation Enduring Freedom.

Notice how the Defense Department provides a high-sounding name (Operation Enduring Freedom) for what is really war?

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By Houstonjac (Bob Jack)

Sept. 8, 2009

3:56 a.m.

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David--You have written a fair and balanced letter in my opinion. This coming from a conservative to boot. Will is a little over the top for me on the subject of Afghanistan/Pakistan. On the subject of the reason for our war in Iraq, we will all debate the core reasons for that war until hell freezes over. Personally, I was for going after the WMDs to keep that madman Hussein from handing them over to terrorists. Will thinks it was oil,which was never the reason for me.
By fremmasmind

Sept. 8, 2009

4:27 a.m.

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Houston it was for the construction of a crude oil and a natural gas pipeline that are in the future to bring these fossil fuels out to the Arabian Sea from Turkministan.
By SgtRock

Sept. 8, 2009

6:44 a.m.

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Your 9/11 Truther theory makes no sense whatever.

The natural gas pipeline (there never was or ever will be a crude oil pipeline) through Afghanistan was a signed deal made in the 1990's during the Clinton administration.

So is Clinton part of the grand conspiracy?

The war in Afghanistan has actually stopped the building of the pipeline and is not slated to be restarted for a long time.

So you need to flipped your theory around. You know....cherry pick "facts" and arrange them and then BOOM....Bush/Cheney did it.
By Future

Sept. 8, 2009

2:16 p.m.

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"I would increase our troop presence in Afghanistan, get Pakistan on the same page, and root out the real terrorist threats."

Obama's Afghanistan policy is appeassment and not one to win. Therefore we should not support this war if this is our strategy.