To the editor:

Fellow veterans may disagree, but I respect those war protesters recently arrested outside the military recruiting office (Journal-World, June 22). Unlike those who believe that patriotism consists of purchasing a yellow car ribbon that says “Support our troops,” these young people were willing to sacrifice their comfort and security for their beliefs. If nothing else, their actions helped to remind the complacent that our country is at war and that every day, American and Iraqi citizens are dying in a war that was initiated under false pretenses.

Such protests may harm the morale of the troops, but the damage is infinitesimally small compared with the deceptions which prompted this bloody conflict. The impetus for attacking Iraq had less to do with WMD, terror or a belief that Iraq could serve as a democratic beachhead, than with the macho delusions of the Cheney-Rumsfeld-Bush cabal. In removing Saddam, our political leaders inadvertently unleashed the dogs of sectarian violence, and now U.S. military personnel have the unenviable task of quelling this hatred.

All wars eventually end, and sooner or later American troops will be pulled out of Iraq. Alas, this “victory” will likely have less to do with a free and democratic Iraq than with political and fiscal considerations in Washington. As the casualty and balance sheets go deeper into the red (this country now spends more than $1 billion per week on Iraq), protests like the one last week will appear ever more justified.

Ray Finch,

Lawrence