Bring our troops home

To the Editor;
Having served 20 years in the U.S. military (submarines), I find the editorial stance of the BDN on Oct. 10 concerning the “Syria withdrawal” troubling. The BDN’s position seems to be in agreement with most of Maine’s congressional delegation that considers the withdrawal to be an abandonment of the Kurds and a dangerous signal to our allies.

Notwithstanding President Donald Trump’s “bluster” in making the announcement of the withdrawal, when exactly would have been an appropriate time to bring our troops home? The Kurdish-Turkish enmity is centuries old and is symptomatic of the endless tribal animosities of the Middle East.

Our attempting to pick winners and losers in this region has been spectacularly unsuccessful. After eliminating Saddam Hussein, we have spent hundreds of billions of dollars and suffered far too many American deaths and injuries within the region, which remains in perpetual turmoil.

There are currently conflicts in Syria, Yemen and most recently Saudi Arabia with massive protests now taking place in Iraq. So where and when does this endless American involvement end? When do you propose bringing our troops home?

What is particularly bothersome is that, I suspect, none of the politicians (and editorial page staff) supporting continued American involvement in the Middle East have a dog in the fight. That is, none of their own family members are being sent to fight these battles (and possibly die) in these undeclared wars.

Here is the bottom line: I believe that the people who insist that “we must remain there” are also saying “not my children.” At least Trump is not a phony on this issue.

Ed Linz
Greenville