TO THE EDITOR:

Early this month the number of American soldiers killed in Iraq passed 2,000, which they labelled only a number. I got a chance to see the American Friends Service Committee exhibition titled ìEyes Wide Open,î a look at the true cost of the Iraqi War which was also sponsored by Veterans for Peace. It was a powerful indictment of Bushís policies.

My critics would have the public to blindly follow Bush and the chickenhawks. Rather than risk more personal attacks, let me cite Tom Maertens, Ýa distinguished Foreign Service Officer of more than 28 years. ìBesides the $200 billion in military costs, total spending for Iraq has to include $315 billion in future veteransí benefits, $220 billion in added interest, and ... $24 billion for reconstruction and security.

The human costs are 2,000 dead (now more than 2,015), 20,000 wounded (and more 30,000 Iriaqi civilians). The political costs... In the end, we will spend $1 trillion or more for an outcome that is inimical to our interests: an Islamic state aligned with Iran, an independent Kurdistan and a rump Sunni state around Baghdad that might well become a haven for terrorists ... In the meantime, four years after 9/11, Osama bin Laden remains at large ... This series of outcomes makes Bushís invasion of Iraq a fiasco without parallel in American foreign policy ... and the end is notÝin sight.î

And under his administration, oil companies made record profits at the same time RepublicansÝwere trying to give them more tax breaks; Hallburton, Ýthe companyÝVice President Cheney was the CEO before becoming our Vice President - giving us two oilmen in the White House - was accused of overcharging the US GovernmentÝmillions of dollars for contracts in Iraq; andÝhis chief of staff,ÝLibby, wasÝindicted.ÝNot a very inspiring picture of the Bush administration and their judgments.

Robert G. Walz
North Branch

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