Americans support troops, not war

To the editor:

On controversial issues, it is common for Americans to express their position by displaying bumper stickers on their cars. For example, millions of people believe that abortion is a form of murder: "God is pro-life"; or that the Second Amendment gives them the right to own and use unlimited kinds of firearms: "People, not guns, kill people."

In contrast millions of people believe in a woman's right to choose: "Not pro-abortion but pro-choice"; or that the Second Amendment refers not to individuals owning firearms but only to a "well-regulated militia"; "Without guns people don't shoot people.

This brings me to the yellow ribbon "Support our troops" bumper sticker, which at present is found on many cars in the Cape area. What exactly is the controversy which creates this craze? There are millions of people who believe the war in Iraq was a mistake, that America's continued military presence in the Mideast daily creates new anti-American terrorists, that it is in the best interest of America to allow Iraqis to determine their own form of government and their own future, and finally, that the president should get the troops home posthaste. But I have yet to find any American who doesn't support our troops, who doesn't want them to be successful and safe as long as they are in harm's way, and who doesn't want all of them to be able to return home to their loved ones.

JOHN C. BIERK, Cape Girardeau.