Randolph Doctor:
Time To Speak

My entire professional life has been spent caring for the children and families of the Randolph area. This privilege has created in me a keen sense of responsibility for the health and well-being of the community. That well-being extends beyond Vermont and includes our overall "health" as a nation. With that thought in mind, I would like to say the following.

Over the last 7-plus years I have watched the health of this nation deteriorate as the decisions of the leaders of this country have used leadership in a way that has created a disaster for our country, our children and possibly the world—leading us into a war in Iraq with misinformation, poor planning and in all likelihood out and out lies.

The decision to invade Iraq has resulted in the loss of over 4000 brave American men and women (at least five more this week). In my mind, these fallen soldiers are all heroes and my heart and soul goes out to their families. Vermont has the sad distinction of having the highest percentage of our soldiers killed in this war. Along with those who have died, tens of thousands of brave young men and women have been physically and psychologically injured. They will carry these wounds for the rest of their lives.

Hundreds of thousands of Americans have been touched directly by this war with family members, close friends or neighbors who have been casualties. They will never be the same. Although difficult to determine an accurate measure of Iraq citizens killed, wounded or displaced by the war, reliable estimates range up to 100,000 killed with many thousands wounded and millions displaced.

The fiscal costs of this "war" are staggering, with over $500,000,000,000 spent already with no end in sight. That amounts to over $341,000,000 per day. This expense has created debt that our children and grandchildren will be paying off for future generations. All of this is occurring while the plight of the average American is deteriorating, affected by higher fuel costs, a failing economy, loss of jobs, more uninsured, higher costs for health care and more.

At the same time, the oil companies are earning record profits, the contracted companies in Iraq are making huge profits and many others continue to grow their wealth on the "spoils" of war. Yet too many of us have remained silent. As a society, we cannot afford to remain silent any longer.

At present, the war has degenerated into a civil war with no end in sight. The latest events in Iraq have demonstrated that our time there, more than five years (longer than World War II), the lives lost, and the money spent all seem to be in vain. In fact, we have been responsible for a great deal of destruction, including the basic infrastructure of Iraq, and the attempts to improve and rebuild Iraq have failed.

A recent report suggests that the insurgency wants us OUT and Al-Qaeda in Iraq wants us to stay. Al-Qaeda was not even there before we invaded but our actions have provided them with a world stage and a marked increase in recruits world wide unprecedented before our leaders led us into this war.

One of the presidential candidates has stated that it is "okay if we stay in Iraq for a hundred years." What does that mean? Do we continue to fight the civil war that is now raging? Do we continue to lose our brave, honorable men and women to this mistake? Why? Is it because our failed President does not want to "lose the war"?

What have we gained? I suggest nothing for the USA or the world. Yes we captured and killed an evil man and some of those around him, but data suggest that his regime was failing before we invaded.

What have we lost? We have lost our country’s position as a world leader; we have lost our successful economy; we have lost our good will with many countries of the world even though on September 11, 2001 these countries were willing to support us; we have lost our ability to care for others and ourselves. We have lost our honor. Yet our President and at least one presidential contender claims that we "can not afford to lose this war." I contend it is lost already. I contend that if we continue we will lose much more.

Why the silence? Could part of the reason be that "volunteers" are fighting this war? I think this is a challenging and interesting question. If there was a draft, would we all be so silent?

For those of you who believe in what I say, stand up for the end of this horrible war; stand up and be heard letting others know that we need to end this loss of lives, this decline of our nation and most of all our standing as a world leader of peace.

So what can we do? First and most importantly, speak out for what you believe in. Write letters to our local and national leaders, talk to others, attend group sessions on the issues, really look at what we have done to the people of Iraq, the loss of our brave and honorable soldiers, the Iraq lives that have been lost and the destruction of a country.

Most importantly VOTE and encourage others to vote. We need a change in leadership more in the vein of Dr. Martin Luther King, John F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, FDR and a leader that is not afraid to "stay the course" but is willing to "change the course" so that we can be the America that we all hoped we could be.

Lou DiNicola

Randolph