Joe Burton: Perpetual war

Regarding the June 12 Focus article “High cost for civilians trapped in drone wars being conducted by U.S.”: The description of the U.S. air attack on two cars at the Hatra checkpoint in Mosul, Iraq, was horrifying. Eleven civilians were killed, mostly women and children, their bodies destroyed beyond recognition.

Mistakes like these have not been uncommon in the Middle East wars. They can be written off as simply the tragedy of war, or in the words of Timothy McVeigh, collateral damage. But since the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, the overriding mistake has been the belief by our political leaders that killing perceived “bad guys” will bring peace and stability to the Middle East and security here at home. The only ones who benefit from what has now become perpetual war are the Pentagon and its war profiteers.

This story was originally published June 19, 2016 at 6:00 PM with the headline "Joe Burton: Perpetual war."