As a ten-year military combat veteran, I read Jeff Foster’s letter to the editor with quite a bit of disbelief.

Cindy Sheehan is “providing aid and comfort” to the enemy?

This poor woman just lost her son in an illegal, immoral and unjust war. To accuse her of treason is nothing short of ridiculous.

Make no mistake, Jeff chose those words very carefully, and while he makes no overt reference to treason, the wording is exactly what appears as part of the definition of treason in our constitution.

Now I know Jeff; we talk several times a week about our divergent viewpoints.

Now I do agree with his opinion that Sheehan does not need to talk to Bush again about her son.

She had a chance that most grieving families do not; she spoke with the President once already.

If the president had to speak several times with the families of those lost in Iraq he would get less done than he already does.

The man is paid to be the president, and even though I didn’t vote for him, I want my money’s worth.

He spends enough time goofing off at his ranch in Texas; he doesn’t need any more excuses to not work.

I also have plenty of friends who are still over in Iraq.

One painful lesson learned from the Vietnam conflict is that the soldiers are not to blame for this war.

They follow orders.

To suggest that she is slighting the troops, or that even the peace movement is slighting the troops is just absurd.

The United States learned its lesson on that count over thirty years ago.

I have not heard a single word of derision where our troops are concerned.

When you think about the effect Cindy Sheehan and the peace movement has on the morale of the enemy, you must admit that it has some effect.

But, the United States has a long and well-documented history of war opposition protesting. Anyone who has studied our culture, as the terrorists obviously have, would realize that a peace movement would be expected.

If you want to talk about what aids and comforts the enemy you do not need to look any further than the Abu Ghraib prison torture. When those pictures were broadcast over every news wire, the whole world saw the Bush administration’s true colors.

I, for one, hold the United States to a higher level of conduct, and when we torture prisoners on administration orders, we are no better than those we struggle against.

That kind of action fuels the enemy and creates new insurgents, not the words of a soccer mom from Texas.

There are many things that aid and comfort the enemy, not the least of which is a war of aggression against an Arab nation.

When you add in torture and killing innocent civilians, a brave and courageous woman like Cindy Sheehan, along with all the others who have lost loved ones pale in comparison. If you want to accuse someone of aiding and comforting the enemy, you should probably start with the person who does the most of it: George W. Bush.

Eric Rummel

Former Hospital Corpsman First Class (DV/PJ), U.S. Navy

Senior history major