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Stop beating war drum

A letter by William Snyder Jr. (May 15) said President Barack Obama and America had no backbone. Obama didn’t do anything about Syria, Iran or Ukraine.

What Snyder and others (including many in Congress) mean is go to war. Send Americans to a foreign land to be killed and wounded.

What have the last three wars done for America? In Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan, over 68,000 were killed, 336,000 were wounded. Not included are POWs left in Vietnam. We should never have gone to war in these countries. Don’t forget about the trillions of dollars wasted.

In Afghanistan, we went there to get the people who attacked America on Sept. 11. The job could have been done by small military and civilian special forces. Does anyone believe we should have gone to war in these places? Please tell us why and what we gained.

Snyder brings up Bengazi, Libya. It was tragic that four Americans died in those circumstances. Why didn’t Snyder point out that George W. Bush, Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld lied to start the war in Iraq?

Snyder said the Saudis are upset that Obama has not done anything about Iran. Here’s a thought: Let the Saudis deal with Iran. Let their troops get killed and wounded for a change. The Saudis are our friends for two reasons: We protect them and buy their oil.

Snyder wants Obama to back the Sunnis, not the Shiites. Saddam Hussein was a Sunni. He was a brutal dictator, but he kept Iran under control.

There are two things that irritate veterans: Americans, including those in Congress, who speak of war, but never served in the military and never will. Next, people who say “we should go to war” but mean: you go; I’ll stay home.

One of the things Native American Indians can be proud of: when the chief and braves said “we are going to war,” they didn’t mean someone else.

Dennis C. Shore

Altoona

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