Nobody wins in Afghanistan
Dear Editor: Most of us read about the tragic and fatal attack on an American helicopter in Kabul, Afghanistan, that left 31 special ops troops dead this week. We are now 10 years into this irresponsible war, and it is said that this was the single deadliest incident for American troops so far.
It always hurts to read about U.S. casualties in any situation, but this one makes me cringe in a different way. Not only were these highly trained soldiers who were from the same unit that took down Osama bin Laden, they were Americans with families back home. That pain comes standard with any war casualty, but in this situation it stirs troubling questions.
We jumped into this war with a post-911 thirst for vengeance, and at that time I was a 13-year-old boy who was legitimately scared for his country. Now, 10 years later, it is a frustrating reminder of the blunders of the Bush years.
The boogeyman from my childhood, bin Laden, is now dead – and as the casualties mount day to day, we spend billions of dollars abroad that should be spent here at home. It’s incredibly frustrating knowing that the budget was balanced in 2000, and these wars have taken America’s future and put it in jeopardy.
I am legitimately concerned about the economic future of this country as a direct result of the careless spending on fighting terrorists abroad. End the wars already, I’m sick of the government sacrificing my generation’s future.
Andrew Edminister
Basalt
Aspen City Council considers additional increases to food tax refund
Just as everyone was getting used to the $15 increase in the food tax refund, Aspen City Council unanimously agreed that they’d like to see it increase even more.