Domestic issues will not be solved until troops are home

I fully support the agreement between President Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai to speed up the process of pulling U.S. troops out of Karzai’s country [“U.S. steps up Afghanistan withdrawal,” page one, Jan. 12]. The sooner we get out of the Middle East, the sooner we can start dealing with problems at home and at the same time force the countries in that part of the world to work together to solve their problems.

I don’t see how we can realistically deal with our budget problems unless reducing our presence in the rest of the world is part of the deal.

The cost of three very unnecessary wars starting with Vietnam is a major part of our deficit problems. To not admit to this is to put one’s head in the sand.

Wars are costly and not so much necessary in today’s world, where having a well-educated population fostering a strong economy is the name of the game. Those countries looking after the needs of all their citizens will be the winners in the future.

--George Whitaker, Bellevue