Don’t focus on Iraq – mistakes made at home

Dear Editor:

As President Bush begins his seventh year in office, everyone continues to focus on the decisions he has made regarding the war in Iraq. Many Americans feel that the war has thus far been a failure and is only getting more violent. These same people say that what President Bush has done and is doing is wrong and awful. In my opinion, it is what President Bush has not done that is awful. In his obsessive desire to control Iraq, he has neglected many of the biggest problems we are facing at home.

First, our education system in the United States is in shambles from bottom to top. Many school systems, especially those in the inner city, can barely afford text books for their children. Those fortunate young minds who receive a quality enough education and are able to afford college attend only to graduate with loans they will be paying off until the day they retire.

In his quest for victory in Iraq, President Bush has destroyed any quality diplomatic relationships we once had with other nations. Even if other countries will cooperate with the United States, many of their citizens view us as an antagonistic bully with no regard for anyone else’s views. If we have any chance of standing up to North Korea and a soon-to-be-nuclear Iran, President Bush ought to start trying to bring more friends back to the table of international diplomacy.

Finally, illegal immigration is the worst that it ever has been in the United States. According to the Center for Immigration Studies, about 500,000 illegal immigrants enter our borders annually. Immigration is what our country is based on and brings about a more prosperous society, though only when it is done through legal means. Illegal immigration has created higher crime rates and security threats and places a greater strain on our economy and tax dollars all so Bush can appease big businesses whom are some of his largest financial contributors.

I commend our troops for everything they are doing overseas. They are truly heroes for their courageous efforts and I hope they can come home as soon as possible. As for President Bush: It is time to stop your personal crusade and focus on many of the urgent problems that we as Americans are facing today.

Jason Isakovic

Graduate political science student