We spent billions of dollars on the war in Iraq that lead to the loss of our servicemen and the loss of innocent civilians. We do not need and cannot afford another war.
Ten years ago the United States engaged in military action against Iraq after President George W. Bush presented evidence looking for weapons of mass destruction.
No WMD’s were ever discovered, nonetheless, the U.S. military engaged in war with an already troubled nation.
Eventually, the Iraqi people were freed from the clutches of a despotic madman who has been in power since 1979 who left behind mass graves and torture chambers. However, they were freed at the cost of brave men and women of the United States, and they will not be forgotten.
Ten years later, Iraq and its people are in a state of disrepair with unemployment in the double digits, and basic utility services previously offered are no more. Iraq went from bad to worse in a matter of years, despite being No. 2 in OPEC, the nation is broke. One can argue this is largely due to the fact that Iraq’s system of government is corrupt, has been and always will be.
Furthermore, many of the people living in Iraq are going to bed hungry. To make matters worse, suicide bombers roam the streets killing themselves and anyone who is around.
In 2013 the United States discovered that Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad used chemical weapons, notably Sarin gas, (a gas that attacks the nerves and muscles and can kill, depending on exposure, as quickly as one minute) to kill innocent men, women and children.
After this report surfaced, theories began to emerge that Assad did not use Sarin gas on his people and that in all likelihood if anyone were to use this gas, it would be the Muslim Brotherhood.
Now, there are so many ambiguities surrounding President Assad that to jump into a war is not in this nation’s best interest. Importantly, how can one even trust this current administration when the previous administration lied to us and lead us into war?
For the U.S. to engage in another war in the Middle East would most certainly bankrupt us, as well as adding to more innocent lives lost. Furthermore, the U.S. would be doing this alone.
The United Kingdom already voted not to go to war with Syria. Both Russia and Iran are threatening the United States if we were to engage in war with Syria. A logical approach would be to have the United Nations work with Syria and either impose sanctions or send in inspectors. The UN is there to help in these situations.
President Obama and Congress should be more than aware that a war now is not what the people want.
We need to focus on repairing the U.S. and fixing our debt before we go to war with anyone else. We need to focus on bringing jobs back home. We need to fix unemployment. We are a nation already in crisis and we must not add to that.
Scott Diamond
Mineola
