Middle East wars have lasted too long

Many of us elected President Obama to lead us swiftly out of the wars on the Asian continent and in the Middle East. Knowledge of history should tell us that putting our troops there or even beefing them up is a fatal flaw. The Afghanis got rid of the Brits in the 19th Century, the Russian Soviets in the 20th, and now it's our turn to fail in the 21st. Military theorists like Clausewitz wrote and warned knowledgeably about such misbegotten ventures.

President Bush's reaction to 9/11 was totally wrong. He treated the crime of terrorism as a war against a sovereign nation. I said so at the time, but no one listened. I was one of the 12 percent of our citizens who advocated covert action against al-Qaida, not full-scale war against nations that did not want to go to war with us. Our demand that the Taliban give up Osama bin Laden was a mistake, asking more than they could realistically deliver. Had we gone after al-Qaida as a criminal organization, its influence would have been limited, and the neighboring Arab nations our allies and friends. They would be helping us subdue it instead of providing it with recruits. The decision to carry on Bush's wars in Afghanistan and Iraq is unconscionable, considering the hopes raised during the campaign. I agree with those too who want to put a stop to the Israeli tail wagging the American dog. For too long we've aided and abetted the immoral deprivations Israel has visited upon the Palestinians. Neither the U.S. nor the Israelis acknowledged the victory of Hamas in free democratic elections in Gaza. The recent destruction just before Obama's taking office is an atrocity; the Israelis concocted their own holocaust.

Marion J. Reis

Wheaton