Not duty-bound to finance Iraq war

To the editor:I consider military personnel to be doing their duty admirably by being available if circumstances should require their bravery, their valor, their prowess and their skills. And, from the bottom of my heart, I thank them. On the other hand, I would like to point out that the defense establishment -- of which they are a part -- does not make national policy. This will explain why I am left cold when I hear members of the armed services tell the willing ears of Rightist Talk Radio that their morale is devastated whenever they hear that the home front is coming to the opinion that the Iraq invasion is a debacle.

An individual serviceperson certainly has the right to his opinion as a citizen. However, he should realize that his opinion is not given special cachet because of his being in the military. If and when Congress cinches the strings of the Iraq-invasion purse, then that effectively will end the argument, and our military must then come home. The Iraq invasion is not a hobby that we are duty-bound to finance in order to indulge our military.

DONN S. MILLER, Tamms, Ill.