Letter: U.S. out of Iraq

Editor, Daily News:

Having missed Vietnam action during my four-year military service (1966-70), I admit to a strange feeling on a recent Southeast Asia cruise.

Traveling through the delta to the former Saigon past rice paddies and farms, it was impossible not to see the ghosts of 58,000-plus American soldiers and hundreds of thousands of others who died or were injured there. It was also impossible not to ask myself why?

What was accomplished? Why did those brave, honorable and courageous people make the ultimate sacrifice? We lost, yet communism did not spread and the people of Vietnam seem to be doing quite well.

So, as atrocities in Iraq continue, I again ask myself why? What's being accomplished? Why are brave, honorable and courageous Americans dying there? I mean, let's just put it out there: Does anyone here really give a rat's ear about Iraq? Does anyone here care if the Shiites, Sunnis or Kurds gain control? Does anyone think any democracy we are remotely familiar with will prevail when they finish fighting?

Our military is the strongest and most technologically advanced in history and should be feared and respected accordingly, not just sent out every day to be road-killed or target practice.

If you really want to support our troops, understand that supporting them means getting them out of this quagmire. If you are concerned that pulling out would cause us a loss of respect across the world, well, it's too late for that.

President Bush's ego aside, there is a time and a place for everything, including the use of our military.

Art Herman , Bonita Springs