As a military retiree, I read the opposing viewpoints concerning the Cindy Sheehan protest with much interest. Both authors were very passionate in their support or opposition to what she is doing.

However, I think both authors missed the point.

The real point is this- what Cindy Sheehan is doing is providing aid and comfort to the enemies of the United States.

Yes, Sheehan does have the right to voice her opinion.However, just because you have the right to do something doesn’t always make it right. With rights come responsibility and consequences.

One of the consequences of her protest is that our troops are having to work and fight even harder than before because our enemies get inspiration from the fact that some people are over here protesting. One of the responsibilities is that some of our troops will die because of the protests that are going on over here.

I still have many friends in the military who are serving in Iraq. They have done, and are still doing, a wonderful job trying to liberate that nation.

Several of my classmates here at NKU have been pulled from class for deployment to Iraq.

However, their jobs have been made tougher and their lives have been put in jeopardy because of the protests of Cindy Sheehan and others.

How? Because Al Jazeera Television plays up these protests. They broadcast them across the region every day in an attempt to show an America that doesn’t have the heart to finish what it started.

Sheehan claims that she wants to talk to President Bush, but she has already done that. She talked to him last year after her son was killed. She claims she wants to prevent other deaths in Iraq.

In reality, her protests, and the protests of those who are supporting her, are going to cost more lives than they will save. Our enemies see these protests and try even harder in their fight against us.

Their hope is that we will give up and pull out. If we do that, then they win. Our troops, including Cindy Sheehan’s son, will have died in vain. I don’t think that anyone wants that to be the end result.

Cindy Sheehan claims that her son’s death was meaningless. If she and her supporters truly want to give that death some meaning, then they should end this protest and support the thousands of men and women who are still fighting in Iraq. Support our troops so that the Iraqi people can enjoy the freedoms that we have in this country.

Support our troops so they can do their job, win this war, and come home.

To do anything else is to betray those who are fighting.

Jeffrey A. Foster

Technical Sergeant, United States Air Force Retired

Junior

Double major: History and Secondary Education