Spring Break
Letters To The Editor
Issue date: 1/31/08 Section: Commentary
Sanders Wrong About Need For Draft
I am a new student and a veteran, and I was very upset to read commentary in The Daily Campus today suggesting that drafting young people to fight is a better solution to manning issues in the military than withdrawing from Iraq. I am sickened at how short our memories are when it comes to the events leading up to our preemptive war with Iraq. In 2002 and early 2003, President Bush and his administration told the American people that Iraq had violated the 1991 truce that ended the first Gulf War by manufacturing and obtaining weapons of mass destruction. They told us that Iraq was an imminent threat and that they had the means to attack the east coast of the United States. They told us that they knew exactly where the weapons were, outside of Tikrit, Iraq. In March 2003, President Bush issued an ultimatum to Saddam Hussein giving him 48 hours to either turn himself in or prepare for war. Five years later, Saddam Hussein has been tried and executed, but we have found absolutely no evidence that Iraq had obtained or manufactured weapons of mass destruction after 1991. Every branch of the military has been taxed through overuse of individual augmentees. The military has raised enlistment bonuses and lowered enlistment standards. The best and brightest are still leaving. Do we really need to pump new blood into a military that is bleeding to death without attending to the wound that is causing all of these problems? The first step is for us to admit that we were conned into an illegal war.
-Michael Roberson
Former E-5
U.S. Navy
I am a new student and a veteran, and I was very upset to read commentary in The Daily Campus today suggesting that drafting young people to fight is a better solution to manning issues in the military than withdrawing from Iraq. I am sickened at how short our memories are when it comes to the events leading up to our preemptive war with Iraq. In 2002 and early 2003, President Bush and his administration told the American people that Iraq had violated the 1991 truce that ended the first Gulf War by manufacturing and obtaining weapons of mass destruction. They told us that Iraq was an imminent threat and that they had the means to attack the east coast of the United States. They told us that they knew exactly where the weapons were, outside of Tikrit, Iraq. In March 2003, President Bush issued an ultimatum to Saddam Hussein giving him 48 hours to either turn himself in or prepare for war. Five years later, Saddam Hussein has been tried and executed, but we have found absolutely no evidence that Iraq had obtained or manufactured weapons of mass destruction after 1991. Every branch of the military has been taxed through overuse of individual augmentees. The military has raised enlistment bonuses and lowered enlistment standards. The best and brightest are still leaving. Do we really need to pump new blood into a military that is bleeding to death without attending to the wound that is causing all of these problems? The first step is for us to admit that we were conned into an illegal war.
-Michael Roberson
Former E-5
U.S. Navy
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
Rick
posted 1/31/08 @ 9:57 AM EST
I too am a former Navy E-5 (HM2, Vietnam era) and I agree completely with Mr. Roberson. This war-of-choice in Iraq has overtaxed the military, created gargantuan budget deficits, ballooned the national debt, drawn resources away from domestic problems (like the Gulf Coast), AND distracted us from dealing with real terrorists. (Continued…)
jarod
posted 2/01/08 @ 2:30 PM EST
Wow I could not have said this better. Right on gentlemen.
Sgt. Jarod Waters USMC-inactive
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