U.S. should spend $87 billion on Americans

To the editor:

Why is it that when al-Qaida, Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein attacked the World Trade Center and killed several thousand innocent men, women and children, no other countries gave us millions of dollars for rebuilding? The U.S. military went to Iraq, blew up a few buildings here and there and killed a few people to try to get Iraq freedom from Saddam. Now U.S. taxpayers, courtesy of Congress, get to pay billions of dollars to rebuild Iraq better than it was before we blew it up. With the most recent donation of $87.5 billion, taxpayers are really getting the shaft while Congress tries to look good.

How about we let the representatives and senators pay the billions out of their pockets? How much would they be willing to give then if they actually had to give their own money?

I feel that since the Iraqi people want us out now, we should oblige them. We should pack up our troops and leave them to themselves. We should come back home, spend the $87 billion on the homeless and disabled veterans and take care of our own country first.

The United States is not the world police, so let's quit playing that part and take care of America.

TOM LICHTENEGGER

Jackson