To the Editor:

In "Troop funding shouldn't be jeopardized", columnist Joe Trovato argues that Congress should provide President Bush with every dollar he has requested to continue the war in Iraq, because troops that are "in harm's way" should "always have the funding… they need to carry out their missions, whether those missions are popular or unpopular."

Following Mr. Trovato's logic, once any President places American soldiers in a dangerous situation, he must be provided with an unending stream of the taxpayer's cash, for as long as he wants it, no matter how senseless the "mission," no matter how much the American people oppose it.

This is exactly the situation we face today. A recent Associated Press poll showed that 60 percent of Americans support withdrawing all troops from Iraq over the next six months. Nevertheless, the war continues, against the public's will, sustained by truly staggering amounts of money – over $100 billion voted by Congress in March, and another $145 billion expected by September.

The fundamental question here goes far beyond the issue of the war in Iraq. Do we really believe that our country is a democracy, and that our government has an obligation to obey the will of the people, or do we follow Mr. Travato's view, that we cease to be a democracy the moment our soldiers boots hit foreign soil?

Steve Burns
Faculty Assistant
Dept. of Physics