To the Editor:

Any who frequent Main Street Waynesville on Wednesday afternoons will know that a group calling ourselves Neighbors for Peace, have been vigiling in front of the courthouse  every week since before Shock and Awe — soon to be 13 years. Among the signs we hold are: “We Are All Prisoners of War,” “War Is Not the Answer,” and “War Is Costly; Peace Is Priceless.”

 In support of the last of these, here are some of the costs of war recently compiled by fellow peace activist Curt Torell of Carrboro:

• Costs to military personnel — Of the 2.5 million U.S. troops deployed in our “wars on terror,” over 50 percent suffer chronic pain, 20 percent wrestle with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and/or depression, and 20 percent have sustained traumatic brain injury. These have led to a suicide rate of one active service member and 22 veterans every day. More than 6,800 American troops and 6,780 private contractors have died, and 970,000 new disability claims are pending before the VA.

• Costs to our present and future well-being — While Congress cuts programs for basic human needs, our costs of post-9/11 wars — including future veteran care — stand at $4.4 trillion. We’ve spent $7.6 trillion on defense and homeland security. Yet spending those same dollars on peaceful industry — education, health care, infrastructure, and renewable energy — could produce many more and better paying jobs.

• Costs to our security and image — These wars have created more enemies and extended the battlefield worldwide to places like Paris and San Bernadino. ISIS is using our bombing to recruit, while our employment of torture and drones tarnishes our moral credibility.

• Costs to our planet — The Pentagon is the largest institutional consumer of oil and biggest producer of toxic waste, dumping more pesticides, defoliants, solvents, petroleum, lead, mercury, and depleted uranium than the five biggest American chemical corporations combined.

 These costs are the consequence of an addiction that is out of control. Breaking free of any addiction is not easy. War profiteers will need to shift into new industries. Youth will need to find other challenges. Politicians will need to find constructive ways to look strong and win votes. But people do overcome addictions every day.

To “break clean” from the war addiction, Mr. Torell suggests the following: 

(1) Acknowledge war as an addiction. (2) Call upon a “higher power” to form a “coalition of the willing” to renounce war and promote human rights. (3) Admit the error of using war as a tool of foreign policy that has harmed millions, and make amends to those who have suffered. (4) Learn new ways of dealing with nations that abuse human rights, such as committing to a new code of international conduct, and working through the UN and International Court, rather than acting unilaterally to advance our own interests. (6) Halt the sale and stockpiling of weapons while finding new avenues for economic growth that promote life and do not destroy our planet.

 If the costs of this addiction disturb you, join us in front of the courthouse on Wednesdays, 4-5 p.m., as we seek to proclaim that “War Is Not the Answer.”

Doug Wingeier, 

Waynesville