A soldier’s trauma shows war is wrong

Baltimore Sun Letter to the Editor November 4, 2003.

I want to thank The Sun for Scott Calvert’s article about Pfc. Tyrone Roper’s ongoing ordeal (“After Iraq, the guilt of killing tears a life apart,” Oct. 26). My heart goes out to him and his family, and I hope he gets the help he needs to put his life back together again.

Mr. Calvert’s article is a timely reminder of why every war is wrong, and why “preemptive” wars are criminal. Regardless of the final outcome of the Iraq war and occupation, there will be returning soldiers by the thousands who will never wholly integrate back into American society.

Many will wind up in prison or homeless and in despair, leaving broken families and fractured lives in their wake. A few of these tormented souls will be like unexploded ordnance walking among us, and will one day unleash spectacular acts of violence — just as Lee Harvey Oswald, James Earl Ray, Timothy McVeigh and others have done years after they left the military.

America is the most powerful nation in history. In large measure, the examples we set determine the world’s fate.

We have to have the courage to look honestly at our past and present actions, admit and learn from our mistakes and begin to heal the planet — and to do so soon. We must say no to war as an instrument of foreign policy.

Dave Goldsmith
Woodstock
The writer is Baltimore County Green Party coordinator.