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Dear friend,

It is time for us to scream that word loud enough that even the President’s most loyal supporters get the message. We have had enough. We are in a deep hole, and it is well past time to quit digging.

Pause, for just a moment, and think about Iraq. Don’t listen to what I am saying or what the Bush Administration is saying; think about it for yourself. What have we done? We took a stable nation, free of violence and terrorists—though ruled by a terrible dictator—and utterly destroyed it. We have spent $500 BILLION so far, sacrificed more than 3,350 young American men and women, and killed tens of thousands of innocent Iraqis, and what have we accomplished? Iraq is now one of the most unstable and violent places on earth. There are thousands of terrorists in a country where their once were none.

A true leader would acknowledge that we made a terrible mistake and begin to develop a strategy for saving the greatest number of lives and undoing as much damage as possible. Instead the Bush/Cheney/Rice team continues to use fear to manipulate the American people, just as they have since the events of 9/11. Their current mantra is, “If we withdraw from Iraq the terrorists there will follow us home.” Why hasn’t anyone in the press asked them to first accept responsibility for creating the terrorists there? Apparently their ONLY plan is to stay and make more.

Every day that we are in Iraq, we provide organizations like Hamas and al Qaeda their most powerful recruiting tools. Yes, if we withdraw from Iraq, there may be terrible violence. But there is already terrible violence, and, right now, we are the ones being blamed for it.

I am not suggesting an immediate and total withdrawal, but it is long past time for us to cut our losses and stop making matters worse for us and for them. Have you stopped to wonder why this logic falls on deaf ears?

Maybe we need to look at the connections between those who got us into this war and the corporations who most are profiting from this war. The Administration’s policies have enriched its largest campaign contributors and closest friends. Another Republican President from a different era warned us about this as he was leaving office. President Eisenhower warned us in his farewell address:

According to The Center for Public Integrity, defense contractors have given more than $75 billion in political contributions since 1990. They have sought to make our government a wholly owned subsidiary. So, in the midst of the debate going on about the Iraq war—which 60 percent of American voters oppose—if you wonder why the Republicans have written a blank check for the war, or why the Democrats refuse to put a stop payment on that check, just remember that figure: $75 billion to buy their vote.

Sincerely,

Rev. Michael S. Piazza
President

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