A Little Perspective on the War in Iraq

A hat-tip to Sean Dustman at Doc in the Box for pointing me to the blog post that Andy Olmsted left behind.

Andy died of wounds from small arms fire in As Sadiyah, Iraq, on January 3, 2008. He left behind his wife and his parents.

I think he spoke for a lot of men and women when he wrote:

I'm a soldier and I know that sometimes you have to fight if you're to hold onto what you hold dear. But in making that decision, I believe we understate the costs of war; when we make the decision to fight, we make the decision to kill, and that means lives and families destroyed. Mine now falls into that category; the next time the question of war or peace comes up, if you knew me at least you can understand a bit more just what it is you're deciding to do, and whether or not those costs are worth it.

Semper Fi, Andy.