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Pfc. Nicole Frye was killed Monday by a roadside bomb. Her death energized me to write this letter to the editor:
To the editor - Appleton Post-Crescent,
The death in Iraq of area native Pfc. Nicole Frye once again personalizes a war that for many has faded into a familiar news drone over the past year. A smiling, altruistic 19 year old who joined a civil affairs National Guard unit to enable her to do positive service while she saved up to further her education, Nicole was killed by a roadside bomb before the end of the first month of her deployment in Iraq.
By now it should be abundantly clear to Americans that too many courageous young people like Nicole have been harmed in this misadventure. Government spokespeople continue to tell us how well the occupation and rebuilding are going and how important it is to "democratize" Iraq. Independent sources paint a more skeptical picture of the situation and warn of imminent civil war among intractable factions in the population. It seems clear to me that there will be no progress toward peace as long as the occupation is limited to the current meager "coalition of the willing."
I was appalled to learn that our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan suffer from insufficient stocks of essential equipment. Soldier's families have received urgent messages from deployed troops desperately in need of body armor, reliable weapons (the M16 rifle has been vulnerable to jamming since the Vietnam era), warm gloves, flashlights, canteens and hydration systems, mosquito netting, etc. Troops have been adding their own improvised blast protection armor to vulnerable transport vehicles. The Pentagon, and their partner in privatized logistics Halliburton, have chosen not to provide troops with these items along with essentials like cushioned socks, undershirts, personal hygiene supplies and more. They justify their actions as economically prudent.
At the same time, there is no apparent shortage of funds in the $400 billion (plus $87 billion war add-on) defense budget for the development and procurement of the new high tech weapons systems that have no application in a war on terror but are highly profitable to the defense contractor establishment. The $690 million cost overrun charged by Lockheed-Martin for the F-22 jet fighter program alone would buy all of these "shortage" items for the entire occupation force of 140,000 troops with money to spare. The process of developing huge weapons systems to counteract threats that don't exist goes on unimpeded. Carrier battle groups, missile defense systems and jet fighter squadrons geared for aerial combat have no application in today's world. A new and growing concern is a program to expand the capability to produce new nuclear weapons systems and components in direct defiance of the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty. As if the 10,000 existing warheads and additional 12,000 reserve and surplus plutonium pits (warhead cores) are not superfluous overkill already. It boggles the mind.
It seems obvious that our defense priorities are misplaced, and do little to protect us in a war on terror. To continue the current unilateral, increasingly expensive, unpopular and ineffective occupation for political reasons while depriving the troops of appropriate supplies and equipment is not the American Way. Support our troops. Bring them home now.
Sxxxx Cxxxxxx
Appleton
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