Speak Against War

To the Editor:

In his own version of Uncle Sam's Blues, the great jazz trumpeter and blues vocalist, Hot Lips Page, sang about the pain of war to the families of our troops:

Uncle Sam Ain't A Woman

But He Sure Can Take Your Man

Women Wringin' Their Hands And Cryin'

All Over The Land

Page was singing about World War II, but his words have a more tragic meaning if they are applied to the War in Iraq - now with many women losing their lives. The downright stupidity of the Bush Administration in getting us involved in America's first purely proactive war is not as regrettable as its hypocritical and stubborn defense of its actions and determination to continue the slaughter indefinitely.

It's clear that the President and his supporters have no intention of finding a way out of Iraq in the near future.

Taking a cue from Hot Lips Page, maybe the families of our brave men and women in the military can be more vocal in their demands for an end to the War in Iraq. I think the President will have to listen to them. We Vietnam vets know that when the families of those in the military lose faith in our leaders and call for an end to the fighting, our leaders suddenly find ways to bring the troops home.

MICHAEL J. GORMAN

Editor's note: The writer served in the Army in Vietnam in 1967-68.