Viewpoint
page 4 • tuesday, october 25, 2011
Technician
{Our view}
Removal of troops ushers in a new era P
The Facts:
President Barack Obama announced troops would be withdrawn from Iraq by the end of this year.
Our Opinion:
The removal of troops does not remove our presence, and future leaders from our generation will need to take up the slack. We should be prepared.
resident Barack Obama announced Friday that by the end of December, the remaining U.S. troops stationed in Iraq would be brought home. While some see this as an obvious political stunt to aid his re-election campaign, this act should be seen for the merits of it, rather than for its motives—the troops are coming home. Many students on campus have friends or family members who were deployed to Iraq. When they have returned, some have welcomed them home with joy, others with tears in their eyes. When President George W. Bush deployed troops to Afghanistan and then to Iraq, no one could envision the impact this conflict would have on our country. Now, eight long years later,
with the Middle East. Members of the ROTC will be going to those places, strongly influencing how we deal with 2003 and then again in 2004. these situations. Broken relaWalls was in Iraq when the tionships with other nations U.S. liberated the country in can be mended; however, our 2003, and said people were ex- generation will be the one to cited to be liberated from Sad- do it. dam Hussein’s oppressive rule. Obama may be doing this However, in 2004 when the solely to ensure his re-election U.S. failed to secure the borders in 2012. If his renewed bid in Iraq and insurgents took for office succeeds, so be it. It over, Walls said it was a totally is merely another four years; different war. He describes the however, by then our future experience as “not how it was leaders will wield greater influmeant to be,” claiming, “this ence, helping them to deal with wasn’t the war I left in 2003.” the aftermath of the Iraq War. While this war is officially Let us hope through awareness, over, according to the cur- knowledge and understanding, rent administration, the end we may cultivate such leaders is much farther off. Students who will help our country out of all majors will one day be of the mess their predecessors in positions to influence our got it in. country’s foreign relations
The unsigned editorial is the opinion of the members of Technician’s editorial board, excluding the news department, and is the responsibility of the editor-in-chief.
the troops are finally being brought home and the end of this war is at hand—or so we think. Many believe this war was not necessary, but only an overreaction to the attacks on Sept. 11. The U.S. military presence in Iraq will not cease, however. We will remain in Iraq to ensure its peoples’ freedom, as well as our own. Is this truly the right way to go about it, though? Will our generation be able to salvage something from this foreign policy disaster? Master Officer John Walls, a current Raleigh Police Department police officer, discussed the differences between the war in Iraq when he went in
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Live to fight another day
A
lmost three years ago this week, I wrote my very first story for this paper. The story concerned a ballot proposition in California, which attempted to codify the definition of ma r r iage in that state’s constitution. The now infamous Proposition 8 was a major setback Russell for the samesex cause in Witham California, Senior Staff a nd deeply Columnist stung many in the national GLBT community. At the time, it was billed as a monumental joust in the same-sex bat t le . Big money flowed in from both c a mps a nd the f ighters stepped forward to tap gloves. It was a prizefight. In the le ad-up to t h a t s p a rring match, I spoke with Justine Hollingshead, director of the Center for GLBT Programs and Services. To this day, I remember her sense of optimism. It wasn’t necessarily for North Carolina or N.C. State in particular, but it was this sense that justice was about to be delivered. The pending feeling of deliverance was palpable. The fight began the morning of Nov. 8, and the turnout of registered Democrats was spectacular; euphoria and victory should have filled the air. But alas, a stunner quickly emerged. The same voters who sent the nation’s first AfricanAmerican president to the White House weren’t so keen on the idea of Bob and Lou — give us Sue, they said. And so it was that Proposition 8 was adopted. It was the very first thing I thought of when I saw those inhuman images of hate speech last week. As much as it would be comforting to sugarcoat the reality, there is still a large portion of the population that views the GLBT community as perverted and unworthy of most societal privileges. Likewise, this conservative
population isn’t a minority. North Carolinians will visit the polls next year, and will likely deliver a condemnation of same-sex marriage in the form of a constitutional amendment to abolish it permanently. The writing is on the wall — the glimmer of light that burned so brightly just a few years ago is being snuffed out in a cloud of intolerance. It’s not to say advocates of the GLBT cause are moot or the tide will remain forever low. This is simply an acknowledgement that the Bible Belt activists are successfully weaving their version of natural law into t he fabric of this state. They are handing the GLBT movement body blows it mustn’t forget. The most foolish action at this moment would be to pretend as though these offenses didn’t sting. They were heinous and they should bite. The advocates of this cause need to take this feeling and remember it. They should remember it now, and when our current populist sentiment writes the same-sex measure into the North Carolina Constitution. T he s e i s sue s a re n’t amendable, but the fight against the Defense of Marriage Act, the federal legislation barring most same-sex privileges, is just beginning. This is the true battleground and the only place this movement is going to realistically live to fight another day. That’s where this bottled disgust needs to exert its emotion — the one place where universal change can waterfall to the rest of the country.
“The glimmer of light that burned so brightly just a few years ago is being snuffed out in a cloud of intolerance.”
Send Russell your thoughts on gay marriage to letters@technicianonline.com.
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in your words
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How are you going to be impacted by troops pulling out from Iraq? by Brett Morris
“I feel that if we completely drop out of Iraq it won’t benefit us in a sense that if we take troops out, there’s a risk of Iraq going back into a dictatorship.”
Matthew Clark, junior in arts applications
T
Katie Donohue freshman, agricultural education
My letters from the war
he United States invaded Iraq in March of 2003. This conflict has been ongoing for eight years. In August 2010, Obama declared the U.S. mission in Iraq to be over. Chelsey 16 mont h s Francis after his anStaff Columnist nouncement, t he t roops will be coming home. President Barack Obama announced Friday, Oct. 21 that all the troops would be out of Iraq by the end of the year. One of my best friends joined the military after 9/11 and was deployed in Jan. 2011. He hasn’t been home since being deployed. His original reason for doing that was so he could use his built-up leave to return home early. Their excerpts are from letters I’ve received from him since he left our hometown for basic training and then deployment overseas. Aug. 2010: “Maybe I won’t get deployed. The president announced three days ago the mission is over. I think I’m going to fill out transfer papers. I want to get back to North Carolina. Alaska is too cold.” I was the happiest person when I got this letter. I thought I was going to get my best friend back. I spent a lot of time praying that he would be coming home after this letter. However, about a month later, I got another letter that tore my heart right out of my chest. Sept. 2010: “Babe, I found out today. I’m deploying in January. I was hoping and praying I was coming back home to you and Mama. Take care of Mama for me. She loves you, you know. Go visit her and talk about me.” This was the first letter I got from him where I actually
broke down and cried. I’ve always been close to his mother. After we both got our letters from him saying he was deploying, we spent hours talking about all the “what ifs” that go with deployment. Feb. 15, 2011: “It’s hot during the day. It’s cold at night. It’s dry. It’s dusty. I miss you. I miss home.” One of the biggest things he talks about in his letters is how hot it is during the day. June 2011: “You know what’s bad, a lot of times I think about just why I’m here and not home. The only answer I have is, it’s my job. . . It’s crazy. I got in the biggest argument the other day. Someone that I’m stationed with got mad at me because I said this is my job.” Through his letters, I saw him changing from his happygo-lucky self to someone that isn’t happy. Talking to him on the phone shortly after I got this letter, I found out why he was being cynical. “I watched my best friend over here die in front of me, and there wasn’t a thing I could do about it. I had to send his family his last letter. . .” July 2011: “We lost 2 more yesterday. I don’t want to be next. I miss you. . . If I do get killed over here, you’ll get one final letter from me. Promise me you’ll always remember me, but don’t wait for me. I’ll watch over you.” The first time he sent me a letter that said that, I broke down crying. That’s when it really hit home for me that he might not ever come home. That’s what terrifies anyone who knows soldiers stationed overseas – the idea they may never come home. According to CNN’s home and away graphic, in Afghani-
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stan since March 2003, 2,761 soldiers have lost their lives, with another 14,534 more wounded. In the same time period in Iraq, there have been 4,798 deaths and 32,213 wounded soldiers. So many families have been torn apart because of the Iraq War. The numbers don’t tell the full story. As citizens, we have no idea how many people make up the families of those soldiers who have died or been wounded. Personally, I’ve had close connections with three soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. “I’m on my way. I can’t wait to see you and be able to spend days on end with you at home.” This is the letter I’m impatiently waiting for. The fact that he will be home before the end of the year keeps me going day in and day out. One of these days all the dreams we’ve talked about in our letters to each other— the future jobs, the dreams for a farm — will all come true. I know for a fact neither of us are the same as we were in August 2010 when we found out he was deploying, but we’ll be stronger for what we’ve gone through. I’m glad the troops are coming home. My deepest sympathies to the families who have lost loved ones. I can only imagine what you’ve gone through. This column has been edited for length, to view the full one go online to technicianonline.com
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“On a day-to-day level, I won’t be affected. It’s more of an ideological thing, whether you are for the war or not. In that way, it’s always a good thing, in my mind, to have fewer opportunities for American casualties.” Cameron Jetton sophomore, criminology
“I think it’s a positive thing. We’ve been over there for a long time, so I think it’s time they came home.” Allison Lee junior, political science - law and justice
“I guess it could help improve the deficit which would help give more high-paying jobs to people.” Nicky Vaught freshman, psychology
Technician (USPS 455-050) is the official student newspaper of N.C. State University and is published every Monday through Friday throughout the academic year from August through May except during holidays and examination periods. Opinions expressed in the columns, cartoons, photo illustrations and letters that appear on Technician’s pages are the views of the individual writers and cartoonists. As a public forum for student expression, the students determine the content of the publication without prior review. To receive permission for reproduction, please write the editor. Subscription cost is $100 per year. A single copy is free to all students, faculty, staff and visitors to campus. Additional copies are $0.25 each. Printed by The News & Observer, Raleigh, N.C., Copyright 2011 by North Carolina State Student Media. All rights reserved.