The Beginning of ...

October 6 was the beginning of the Afghanistan War ten years ago. Do I hear the word revenge? It also marked the beginning of our demise.

The total cost of our “security” since 9-11has been $7.6 trillion, including the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq,
homeland security, nuclear weapons, and the Pentagon base-budget.

According to costofwar.com, taxpayers in Kentucky's 6th Congressional District that includes my home  have paid $2.3 billion for total war spending (Iraq + Afghanistan) since FY01. For the same amount of money, the following could be provided:

• 991,000 Children Receiving Low-Income Healthcare for One Year OR
• 39,000 Elementary School Teachers for One Year OR
• 334,000 Head Start Slots for Children for One Year OR
• 287,000 Scholarships for University Students for One Year OR
• 420,000 Students receiving Pell Grants of $5550 OR
•  1.1 million One Year Worth of Groceries for an Individual OR
• 472,000 People Receiving Low-Income Healthcare for One Year OR
• 332,000 Fair Market Rent for One Bedroom Apartment for One Year OR
• 311,000 Military Veterans Receiving VA Medical Care for One Year.
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Regarding Afghanistan, its future depends on Afghans, not American soldiers. Immediately withdrawing all U.S. troops and contractors from Afghanistan will make Afghans, including its women safer by removing the funding source and legitimization of war lords and drug lords. The people of Afghanistan should determine their own future. 


Moreover, American national security depends on a less militarized foreign policy. It would not be naive and irresponsible to have a foreign policy based on what is called the Golden Rule. We should not do to others what we would not want done to ourselves. Violence begets violence.


“A decade of occupying Iraq and Afghanistan, expending thousands of our soldiers lives and trillions of our taxdollars, has left us bankrupt. It's time to stop occupying other nations and instead occupy our own city squares, demanding an end to these wars,” explained CODEPINK co-founder Medea Benjamin. Said CODEPINK organizer C.J. Minster, “We are standing up and demanding an immediate end to war and the beginning of a sustainable, renewable economy.” 


By ending the wars and taxing the rich and corporations, the U.S. can afford to create jobs, fund education, support healthcare, and create a sustainable, renewable economy.


I support the Occupations--not of Afghanistan, Iraq, or the Palestinian Territories, but the ones of Wall Street and American public squares.

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