Blood on Our Hands

This was written as an op/ed and sent out to all the major NH papers. None have published it. I post it here with Will's permission. Will Hopkins is the Executive Director of NH Peace Action and an Iraq War veteran. 



"It may be easy for people who have never experienced war to write it off as spending a few bucks to get rid of a monster. For those of us who know what charred flesh smells like, who can still hear the screams of a man whose legs have been blown off, who still wonder if there is a hell, and if that is where we will end up to pay for the blood on our hands - war is a very serious thing.

Syrian soldiers are no different from American soldiers; patriotic, brave, and convinced that they are fighting for freedom, their God, and country. If the Senate and House vote for the Authorization for Use of Military Force, they are voting to kill human beings. Especially with the reality that we are allied with Al Qaeda and other equally brutal groups in Syria, and that we have no idea how this will pan out, who will control Syria, or what the blowback might be-using military force against Assad’s regime is about the worst thing we could do.

The vast majority of Americans are opposed to military strikes. Polls show fewer than 20% of Americans support military strikes-so why is it, that three out of four of New Hampshire’s representatives are still unsure about what they are going to do, or leaning toward supporting yet another middle east war next week when this vote comes?

If any of our representatives vote for this new attack, they are voting AGAINST the people, and FOR military contractors, whose stock has skyrocketed with the news of a new attack. They are voting AGAINST the people, and FOR Al Qaeda. They are voting AGAINST the people, and FOR the oil companies. They are voting AGAINST the people, and FOR more spending on bombs and death instead of taking care of our needs at home.

Detroit is bankrupt. Our roads and bridges are in desperate need of repair. The national debt is now over sixteen trillion dollars. Children are starving, homeless, and going without medical care. As President Eisenhower said,” Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and not clothed.” If any of our representatives vote for this, they are failing in the truest sense to represent us, and we the people should see to it that their political careers end with that vote.