Vietnam veteran wants
to bring Iraq troops home

Copyright © 2006 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.

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I am a veteran of the Vietnam War. I received two Purple Hearts and I had malaria. Vietnam has forever changed my life. At 59 years old, I still have a hard time dealing with war and death. If you have been through a war, you will know what I am talking about.

It was a big mistake for the U.S. to go into Iraq. An even bigger one was to go in without the backing of the United Nations.

A country should never go to war unless we have no other choice. We have lost more than 2,500 of our men and women and thousands more wounded, not to mention more than $200 billion that the war has cost the United States. How many innocent civilians have been killed, as well?

I am not a Republican or Democrat. I am a registered Independent and proud of it.

It really bothers me to see the direction this country is going in. Instead of spending time debating a flag burning amendment and gay marriage, we should be trying to solve the big issues, like Iraq, the crisis in Lebanon and the $75 a barrel oil debacle.

How many more American soldiers and innocent civilians are going to be killed or wounded before we admit that we made a mistake?

I reach out to all Mainers. Let's do what is right and forget about politics.

Stop the killing and bring our troops home, where they belong!

Thomas M. Lohnes

China Village