During my Marine Corps basic training in the 1960s, we recruits were given a course on significant events and people that made the corps an elite military force.

Gen.  Smedly Butler, the most decorated Marine with two Medals of Honor and 33 years of service in military campaigns throughout the world, was held up as a model Marine. We were not told, however, that in later years Butler became disillusioned.

In speeches and in writing, he concluded that as a soldier he had been used as a “gang-like mobster” to protect American banking and corporate interests that plundered other nations and their people.

It is time for us to examine the real reasons for our military presence in Iraq and Afghanistan.

How can anyone claim that the U.S. occupation is promoting freedom and democracy? How can anyone claim we are stopping terrorism, when the war on Iraq has actually fostered terrorism because of our bombing, torture, illegal detentions and the creation of two million refugees?

It is becoming more and more apparent that our military is in the Middle East to insure that one of the largest oil reserves in the world will be controlled primarily by Western oil companies … to make sure that these companies can continue making record profits … to make sure that we Americans can continue driving our gas-guzzling SUVs and RVs.

It is tragic that only the military personnel and their families are bearing the sacrifice and suffering of this obscene war. Are record profits for war-making corporations worth the cost of life to our soldiers and innocent civilians?

On May 24, Congress passed a funding bill to continue paying for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Included in this bill are “benchmarks” Iraq must meet in order for the United States to provide funds to help rebuild its country. One of the “benchmarks,” according to this bill, is Iraq must agree to privatize its oil fields — meaning that foreign companies can purchase leases (20- to 30-year leases) to control 75 percent to 80 percent of the oil in Iraq.

In response to this vote, Ann Wright, a 26-year veteran of the Army as well as 16 years in the diplomatic corps of the State Department, wrote in an editorial for Truthout: “Congress called it ‘supporting our troops,’ but supporting our troops has nothing to do with this bill, other than keeping them there for another 20-30 years to protect U.S. oil interests. … Since the surge began in January, over 500 Americans and 15,000 Iraqis have been killed. By the time September rolls around for the administration review, another 400 Americans will be dead as well as another 12,000 Iraqis.”

She concluded with this question, “How much more can our military and their families take?”

Indeed, how much more are we going to ask of our military? When will we all recognize that we need to bring our soldiers home?

Ron Meyer farms near Superior. He served a tour of duty in Vietnam with the 26th Marines in 1966-1967.