To the Editor:

The Joseph City Council made the right call last week regarding the “Welcome Home Our Troops” sign. Our local young men and women in Iraq are putting their lives on the line and certainly deserve the community’s support and welcome. Mr. Workman’s initiative in honoring them is admirable.

But whether it was intended or not, the sign clearly implies that our troops in Iraq are fighting for our freedom. Along with many people in Joseph, and an increasing number of voters across the country, I believe that the war in Iraq is not about preserving our freedom. I believe that sending our soldiers to Iraq is a betrayal of their idealism and commitment, and that the best way to support our troops is to end the war, so that no more young Americans will be needlessly killed or wounded in an unjust cause.

The Joseph City Council cannot decide the merits of the Iraq War, but it can accurately reflect community values. The Council did so when it made the important distinction between support for our soldiers’ sacrifices, for which there is broad community consensus, and support for a war for which there is no such consensus.

Brian Concannon Jr.

Joseph