Thank you for printing a photo of our vigil in Malibu on March 19 against the Iraq War, which has now gone on longer than World War II.
There was a war that began with an invasion of a Moslem country and an easy victory, and the toppling and execution of the dictator who ran the country brutally. But the armed forces in the Moslem country who faded into the mountains and cities ultimately regrouped, and with the aid of outside intelligence agencies and countries, ultimately fought a war of insurgency which made the occupation of the country a living hell for the occupiers, with soldiers returning home injured, or with serious psychiatric issues, or in caskets. The war became increasingly unpopular at home, and the occupiers ultimately withdrew.
The occupier was the Soviet Union, and the war was its invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, which lasted for almost 10 years. Shortly after the war ended, the Soviet Union crumbled into pieces.
Ted Vaill