Write a Letter to the Editor or an on-line comment about the Iraq debacle

Our voices are still desperately needed. With the troops coming home from Iraq, we should reflect on the results of this devastating invasion. The people of Iraq are actually worse off today than they were under Saddam Hussein. We need to flood the media with our comments and our recommendations for lessons learnt from this illegal war. For more talking points please read our Iraq Debacle Statement.

The best Letters to the Editor will come from the heart and include your own voice and sentiments. We have provided the template below to help you get started but feel free to add your own thoughts to it (though you will want to keep it simple and in the 250 word range). You will also want to cite the article to which you are responding. Take a look at a Letter to the Editor in your local paper to see how other published letters have done it!

Step 1 - Select a Recipient

Letter to the Editor

The Letter to the Editor Section is one of the most widely read sections of the newspaper and can reach a large audience. It allows community members to comment on the way issues are being addressed in the media and to influence the topics the local paper may choose to cover. Elected officials often monitor this section of the newspaper and take notice of constituents' opinions.

We've made it easy for you to contact your local newspaper with your views, but editors want to hear from you in your own words.

Step 2 - Write your message

Subject:

Your Letter:

With the troops coming home from Iraq, we should reflect on the results of this devastating invasion. The people of Iraq are actually worse off today than they were under Saddam Hussein. The U.S. invasion unleashed a wave of violence that has left some one million Iraqis dead, as well as ethnic rivalries that continue to plague the nation. Life expectancy for Iraqis fell from 71 years in 1996 to 67 years in 2007 due to the war and destruction of the healthcare system. Some four million Iraqis are now refugees, many living in increasingly desperate circumstances in Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and around the world.

The war has also taken a terrible toll on our troops, with over 4,400 dead and tens of thousands severely injured. It has drained our treasury, costing us over $750 billion and contributing to the economic crisis.

I believe we should withdraw all remaining troops and military contractors from Iraq. We should help Iraqis repair the infrastructure we destroyed and increase support to the millions of refugees, while using the majority of war funding to rebuild America. Moreover, we should prosecute those officials who dragged us into this invasion on the basis of lies, and learn from Iraq by bringing our troops home from the quagmire in Afghanistan.

Sincerely,

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