11 Years, October 8th Began the 12th

October 8, 2012 - Many of you may not know that yesterday marked 11 years of U.S. war in Afghanistan. We began year 12 today Oct 8. What do we have after 11 years of war? We have a broken economy, 2,134 U.S. dead, tens of thousands wounded physically and mentally, no official count of Afghan deaths (wonder why), but lowest numbers appear to be in the tens of thousands. Lately U.S. and coalition forces are being killed by "friendly" Afghans being trained. Did the news inform you of this sad anniversary? Of course not, because our political leaders want us to forget what is happening. They don't want us to question our constant and relentless use of war. They don't want us to think about why over 50% of the federal budget’s discretionary spending is military. Yet with all the money and the superior military force the U.S. possesses, 11 years later we are still in a war in the 12th poorest country in the world. The people continue to resist, their will is not broken and it does not seem close to being so. Has it not become obvious something is wrong? Billions are being spent, meaning this war has become a cash cow. It is time my friends, in fact it is past time to BRING OUR TROOPS HOME. We all must head the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., “So man's proneness to engage in war is still a fact. But wisdom born of experience should tell us that war is obsolete. There may have been a time when war served as a negative good by preventing the spread and growth of an evil force, but the destructive power of modern weapons eliminated even the possibility that war may serve as a negative good. If we assume that life is worth living and that man has a right to survive, then we must find an alternative to war. “  
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About Michael T. McPhearson

Currently Michael is executive director of Veterans For Peace and co-chair of the Don't Shoot Coalition, A Saint Louis based coalition that formed in the aftermath of Michael Brown's police killing death in Ferguson, MO. From August 2010 to September 2013, Michael worked as the National Coordinator with United For Peace and Justice. He is a former board member of Veterans For Peace and as well as Executive Director from 2005 to 2010. He works closely with the Newark based People’s Organization for Progress and the Saint Louis centered Organization for Black Struggle. Michel also publishes the Mcphearsonreport.org expressing his views on war and peace, politics, human rights, race and other things. Michael also launched Reclaimthedream.org website as an effort to change the discourse and ignite a new conversation about Dr. Martin Luther King’s message and what it means to live in just and peaceful communities.