Dear Mr. President,

Our world today is facing many issues, but one that seems to be the core of everything is the war in Iraq. There are many options that the United States has than to settle a conflict through war, yet many people all over the world use violence, almost instantly, as a problem solver. Many soldiers are being taken far away from their homes, and many never have the chance to come back. Many have been killed, and families have experienced sorrow and regret sending their children off to war. Imagine expecting your child back home, but not being able to see them walk in through the front door ever again. Many have forgotten about the violence that still affects our world today, and many don’t know how scornful war is until it affects them.

            The U.S economy has dropped on account of various reasons, and one of them is the war in Iraq. Not only is this war affecting those in Iraq, but it is also contributing many downfalls here in the U.S. Instead of helping ourselves to better as a nation, we are destroying ourselves and harming those without fault. The reason for going to war in the first place was to liberate Iraq from dictatorship, to protect our nation from terrorism after the 9/11 incident, and to allow Iraqis to thrive economically, but there is one factor that many Americans seem to ignore; none of these things have happened yet.

Many people feel that violence is the most empowering way to eliminate a conflict. In some cases this might be true, but many never acknowledge the harm violence does to others. The war in Iraq is affecting, and has been since March 20, 2003, various factors. The United States spends about 255 million dollars per day, or a little less than 1.8 billion a week. This includes costs like food, uniforms, and gear for the soldiers. There are also future costs, like the money needed to replace equipment that’s wearing out faster than it would if it wasn’t being used in combat. Due to all these factors, the cost of war has increased from 4.4 billion dollars to 7.1 billion dollars a month. Have you ever thought about all the things we could do with this money, and how officious it would be at a time like this, instead of sending it all to the cost of this erroneous war? We could build roads that are needed or help fund public school programs that haven’t been funded on account of this war. There are various things that we could have used this money for; things we truly needed and things we are lacking now as a nation.

We need a plan, now more than ever, to save our nation from self-destruction.

We need to realize the amount of lives being taken away, the amount of time this war  has been going on for without any change, and the amount of money being wasted before it’s too late. With the elimination of this war we can pull away from the national crisis that has deprived so much from us, and from the sad ending our nation awaits if we continue down this path.

                                                                                                         Sincerely,

                                                                                                    Veronica Miranda