Iraq Veterans Turn Against War

In September, I wrote a post about Sue Neiderer, the mother of Lt. Seth Dvorin, who was killed a year ago by a roadside bomb in Iraq. I received several dishearteningly boorish comments from individuals who had no sympathy for Neiderer’s pain and even less for the way in which she expressed it (by protesting against the war). Just this week, an active duty Lt. Farris wrote what I consider a hysterical comment basically claiming that the views of people like me and Neiderer give aid and comfort to our enemies. In his feverish mind, somehow Hollywood was teaming up with Al Qaeda to undermine American values. Oh and why didn’t the UN arms inspectors find WMD in the runup to the Iraq war? Because they were “bought off.” I know you can’t take this stuff too seriously. But what I do take seriously is that individuals like Farris are defending us in foreign lands. Imagine the damage they are doing with their hateful views of the inhabitants of these countries and their religion and culture. Is it too far to travel to imagine that vituperative, intemperate attitudes like his helped lead to the abuses at Abu Ghraib?

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Anyway, I was happy to read Few but Organized, Iraq Veterans Turn War Critics in the Times. It describes the formation of two Iraq vet groups composed of former soldiers who oppose the war. Take that Lt. Farris! Not every soldier is as rabidly anti-Arab as you. I think it’s worth taking a look at both of these websites. The one maintained by Operation Truth is especially comprehensive and graphically sophisticated.