Dear troops: Time to put down arms

I know most people are against the war now. And, yes, most lawmakers in Washington want to get out of Iraq. But that's not enough. They need a two-thirds majority to overrule the president.

Don't worry, they'll end up funding the war somehow, once they realize that Bush isn't going to agree to any timetable that means anything. I mean, nobody's going to let you guys run out of bullets and starve on the desert.

In fact, now the president wants to send another 35,000 replacement troops in the fall, to maintain the levels achieved with the surge earlier this year. They must be thinking they can wind down the rebellion, knock down the insurgents, get rid of all the terrorists who came in after the invasion and end the civil war with more troops.

Yes, I'm sure from a military point of view you've got to be wondering why we didn't have more troops and firepower from the start.

I don't know. Look at how many Iraqis have died as it is. Do you really think the war would have been over? We would have had to replace Saddam with another authoritarian state _ run by us this time. Apparently even Bush and Cheney didn't want that.

OK, but let me ask you this. Do you think there's any chance that the government we did install could survive without our presence? Or would some new dictator surface to bring peace and stability with an iron fist and oppression?

Sure, if we were to leave today, then what?

An escalating civil war, with Iran waiting for the right moment to make sure the Shiites get power. That makes sense. So, you don't think the Iraqi factions could settle things on their own, peacefully. Still, is that any reason for our troops to stick it out and continue being picked off two or three at a time?

Of course people realize you're all professionals, whether Army, Marines, the Guard or Reserves, following orders from your commanders _ right up to the commander-in-chief. And it can't be easy knowing that half the people back home are against the war now and think it was a big mistake.

Yes, I'm sure a lot of the troops also think it's a mistake, but they are trying to do what they can to secure the country so they can get out of there and come home. The issue here is what does that mean and when do you pack it in and say enough is enough, and admit that the whole invasion was wrong from the moment it was hatched in the twisted minds of the Bush administration.

All right, I'll calm down. But the president is not going to give in to the growing realization in Congress that we've got to bring you guys home as soon as possible. The man is disturbed and will not admit he was wrong. And I don't think you can wait until after the next election when Bush goes back to the ranch. The deaths and casualties would be mounting for nothing.

No, you're wrong; nobody's abandoning the troops except the president, who wants to keep you there indefinitely like ducks on a pond.

Supporting the troops and funding the war are not the same thing. Most people don't understand that the best way to support you would be to bring you home.

That's why some in Congress want to cut off money for the war; it's not to abandon you but to reject a deadly and costly mistake that will likely take decades to right. Let's fund a withdrawal and one-way tickets home, not more fighting and killing.

No, I don't believe it's going to happen, either, as I said at the start. Too many lawmakers are afraid; it's abandon-the-ship syndrome. Most people, on the contrary, want them home now.

You know, the quickest way _ and probably the only way _ to end this war now, and bring you guys home before any more of you get killed, would be for you to take some responsibility yourselves.

I know it doesn't sound fair. But you need to stop fighting and demand an end to the war. You need to start refusing to go to Iraq. It's called laying down your arms, and it's the best way yet devised for ending a war.

You're right there: Congress has a better chance of overriding a Bush veto than that happening. But remember, you do have the power to end the war now.

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Cary Brunswick is managing editor of The Daily Star and can be reached at 432-2047 ext. 217 or cary@thedailystar.com.