Letter to the Editor by Jason Turner

Over the last couple of weeks I have watched the march to yet another war in the Middle East with a sense of dread.The justifications from an administration dead set on bombing Syria against expert opinion, and the obvious contradictions in bombing a country for ‘humanitarian reasons’ feels all too familiar.

As a veteran that has served in the Global War on Terror, with three deployments under my belt, I know the consequences of a ‘limited military intervention’ and how easily we have been drawn into wars that we can’t get out of. I don’t want to see more of my fellow brothers and sisters in the military community killed, maimed and psychologically traumatized for unclear reasons.

What is abundantly clear to me, and much of the American people that are opposed to military strikes, is that bombing Syria is reckless, dangerous, and morally wrong. We can’t afford to do this again. This has the makings of a much less desirable war, a war in which the blowback of our actions will be China, Russia, Iraq and Iran forming an alliance to fight back against the aggressive actions of our nation. This is not our war. There is no clear objective and there has never been a clear threat to our interest our country.

Jason Turner, Iraq War Vet 2001-2010