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For her part, Sen. and/or Secretary Clinton seems never to have encountered a war that she didn't immediately embrace on behalf of some geopolitical justification, apparently following Henry Kissinger's dictum that soldiers are "just dumb stupid animals to be used as pawns in foreign policy."
For us Veterans for Peace, we've been there, done that. And so, enough already!
Moreover, beyond the human suffering of those caught up in war, there's what's in store for the rest of us. As recent rhetoric and disclosures of leaked documents have made clear, what lies ahead is a permanent warfare state, including occupation of foreign lands and new military bases around the globe -- unless we have the courage to stand up this time.
Already well under way is creeping curtailment of our rights at home. "A state of war only serves as an excuse for domestic tyranny," wrote Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn -- one who knew.
I think we need to bear in mind that we are part of a long line of those who have taken a stand on these issues. As for those of us who have served abroad to safeguard the rights of U.S. citizens -- well, maybe we have a particular mandate now to keep doing what we can to keep protecting them.
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