"A Life, Wasted"

In this morning's Washington Post, grieving father Paul E. Schroeder writes about the death of his son Augie near Haditha, Iraq, and urges us all to step up our opposition to the President's needless, mismanaged military folly there. Mr. Schroeder states:

Though it hurts, I believe that his death -- and that of the other Americans who have died in Iraq -- was a waste. They were wasted in a belief that democracy would grow simply by removing a dictator -- a careless misunderstanding of what democracy requires. They were wasted by not sending enough troops to do the job needed in the resulting occupation -- a careless disregard for professional military counsel.

But their deaths will not be in vain if Americans stop hiding behind flag-draped hero masks and stop whispering their opposition to this war. Until then, the lives of other sons, daughters, husbands, wives, fathers and mothers may be wasted as well.

Powerful stuff, from someone who knows all too well the terrible consequences of Mr. Bush's unjustifiable misadventure to the East.