Let’s End the War Now!

By Craig Cline

I’m a “baby boomer” — one of about 76 million American children born during the demographic post-World War II baby boom — between the years of 1946 and 1964. If you’re a baby boomer, too, this message is especially for you.  We have patriotic work to do… again.

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Multiple Victims of U.S. Wars

Because I didn’t have to serve a tour of duty in the wrongful Vietnam War, I’ve always felt a moral obligation to work against U.S. involvement in wars that I can neither truly understand nor justify.  That is the case with the wars that we have been engaged in since the 9/11 attacks.

I deeply admire and respect our troops for their willingness to protect and serve American citizens.  However, I just as deeply regret that they were called to make war in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Pakistan.  They are heroic, yes, but to me they are also the victims of these unnecessary and unjustifiable wars.

“We the people” are the other victims.  Why?  Because not only do we mourn the loss of our troops’ lives, and the grievous injuries to their bodies and minds, but also because we simply cannot afford war!

I’m asking that we “boomers” unite in the common cause to end the current war — and to stay out of potential new wars.  To help inspire you, please look at the www.costofwar.com website.  I promise that you will be astounded at what you see: our tax dollars literally flying down the waste hole of war.

Staggering Costs

Here are the highlights of these costs since 2001, rounded as of March 27, 2011:

Total Cost of Wars

To the U.S.:         $1,172,000,000,000

To Oregon:                    9,435,000,000

To Marion County:          774,000,000

To Polk County:                178,000,000

To Salem:                          359,000,000

Note that our cities and counties have “contributed” hundreds of millions, our state over $9 billion (almost 3 times our projected deficit of $3,500,000,000), and our country over $1 trillion of our precious tax dollars.

We waste these gargantuan sums on worthless wars while we face massive deficits within our states and within our country.

I recently read that the collective shortfall for all the states’ budgets is about $125 billion.  In 2011, the Dept. of Defense will apparently receive at least $117 billion to continue the current war.  If we end the war, those billions could, in theory at least, be spent to help us cure our financial woes at home.

Do What We Did to the Vietnam War

Fellow baby boomers and fellow Americans all, let’s do to this war what we finally did to the Vietnam War: end it.

Please don’t continue to accept the unacceptable.  We must stand up together once more, like we did in the late 1960s, and demand an end to the abomination of the current war.  Citizens across the land should personally ask this of Congress now.  Let Oregon’s baby boomers lead the way.

We must end this war.  It is killing U.S.!   We must each become a “Patriot for Peace.” Φ

Craig Cline is a businessman and OPW member living in Salem, OR. He has long been a critic of the enormous sums our country spends for war.