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‘We’re proud of our son,
but not what he is doing’

Our son is in Iraq. We don't want to see him there. We have a bumper sticker that has a picture of our son in his battle gear and a message that says "We want our son back."

When we mention to people that our son is in Iraq, we receive a variety of responses. "You must be proud of what he is doing." "I'll be sure to keep him in my prayers." "Don't worry about him, he will be OK." "When did he go?" or "How long will he be there?" "What part of Iraq is he in?"

We appreciate the prayers. We are proud of our son, but not what he is doing. We will worry about him until he comes home. We are not sure he will be OK. It doesn't matter to us what part of Iraq he is in. We want our son home. Now.

We want him home, not because we are afraid for him. We want him out of Iraq not because Iraq is so dangerous. We are against the "war" and believe our troops should come home as soon as possible. They should never have been sent there in the first place.

We opposed the war before it started, because we believed the so-called war was an act of unjust aggression. We believed the war was immoral. War was declared for base reasons, public support was achieved through deceit and false pretenses. American ideals, America's honor and the American people were betrayed.

We are saddened and shamed that our son and thousands of his military companions were sent to Iraq to carry out an unjustified invasion and occupation of a sovereign nation. The attack on Iraq had nothing to do with the defense of America.

But regardless of the reasons for starting the war, our soldiers and Marines are still there. We have killed thousands. We have been impotent to rebuild what we destroyed. We have succeeded in inflicting misery and suffering on a people we don't even know, and wrecking a society about which we knew very little.

We have generated a monstrous mess. There is no light at the end of this tunnel. We might be there for years. Our casualties will continue to increase. Our young men and women are courageous and honorable people, who are offering and giving their lives in vain.

Our invasion of Iraq was immoral, our occupation of Iraq is mindless. Our president is too afraid to stand before the American people and say, "I made a mistake." It is much safer to stand behind a mask of bravado and say, "Bring 'em on." "Stay the course." "We are at war, we have to expect to make sacrifices."

Because we believe the war in Iraq immoral, because we see the occupation a mess, because we see the senseless sacrifice of our finest, because we have a president who is leading the nation closer to destruction, we will continue to shout, "We want our son back."

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