Fossella's response to Peace Action Staten Island's
protest in his office is a good example of the
obfuscation of war propaganda. He conflates
'supporting the troops' with continuing the war. He
conflates the war in Iraq with defending the world
against terrorism. Based on this confusion, he states
that withdrawal will embolden the enemy.

The true objective of this war is to assert US
hegemony over the Middle East's oil resources. Oil
continues to be the most important resource in the
global economy. The country that controls the oil
market has a great deal of leverage over other
nations. As others have stated, if Iraq's principal
resource was asparagus, the US would not have invaded
Iraq.

This is a war for power and greed. We do not 'support
our troops' by asking them to risk their lives and
limbs in an unjust war. The long standing under
funding of veterans programs made evident by the
recent scandal at Walter Reed Hospital and the
epidemic of veteran homelessness belies US
politicians' concern for our troops and their
families.

The Iraq War is fueling global terrorism. The
injustice of the war is evident to a vast majority of
people in the world. This injustice enrages many and
serves as a great propaganda tool for jihadist groups.
A recent study on the number of terrorist incidents
around the world found a marked increase in terrorist
violence since the beginning of the Iraq War.

It is time that people of the United States reflect on
who we want to be. Do we want our national project to
be global hegemony which in the end means perpetual
war? Do we want a political economy anchored in
militarism? Can we dream of an alternative? Can we
stop this war and start the hard work of building an
alternative?

John Lawrence