Anti-war movement supports the troops

Dear Editor:

The Iraq war is based on lies. Our government invaded a country that never attacked nor threatened to attack us. Invading other countries is not defense. The purpose of our military should be to defend our country from invading armies. This is not how it is being used. Our military is regularly used to invade foreign countries.

Our soldiers are willing to give their lives in defense of this country. Because of this we have the duty to make sure that when we ask them to fight, we do so for the defense of our country. The Iraq war is not a defensive war; it is an offensive war. Our soldiers are willing to protect our freedom, and that is honorable. The mission that they are sent on is not honorable, nor is it about protecting our freedom or defending our country.

Our soldiers are being attacked on a daily basis. As a result, over 2,000 soldiers have died, thousands have been injured and roughly one out of six are returning with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. The number of killed and wounded soldiers is continually rising. A common slogan today is “Support our troops.” This implies: Support the war. Many people claim that the anti-war movement does not support the troops. Tell me, how can you support the troops when you send them to die in an illegal, offensive war? How can you send them to die on the basis of lies? How can you support the troops when you put them in harm’s way for a war that is not in defense of our country? Supporting this war does not support the troops. It harms the troops.

To really support our troops, we must bring them home now.

Chris Kok

Senior international relations major

Air Force ROTC student against the war in Iraq

Dear Editor:

I disagree with a letter from Nick Kulesza entitled “Anti-War Committee doesn’t Support Troops.” I am an Air Force ROTC student, and there are never any low turnouts at these events. Maybe on the Kent campus there are because of a thing called “class,” but all Kulesza needs to do is walk the streets of New York, Washington and other major cities, and he will find hundreds and thousands of protesters on the streets. The media rarely covers these protests. One example would be the protest weeks ago in Washington. There were 100,000 protesters and only 900 supporters of the war, and CNN only covered the 900 supporters.

Another thing too: Protesters are not protesting the troops, they are protesting the reason we went to war and the way we went to Iraq without any cause. It was the Saudi’s that attacked us, not Iraq. The protesters just want the troops home. They do not hate us.

I would have been beaten up or cursed out by protesters a long time ago if they hated the troops. I don’t like the war that’s going on, and I don’t want this Kulesza kid calling me unpatriotic. I’ll go fight in the war if they send me out there, but I still don’t like how we invaded Iraq.

I think the reason Kulesza says protesters hate the troops is because he’s never actually been in a protest like I have. Trust me, the protesters are not against any of our troops.

Bridget Winters

Freshman aviation flight technology major