"See the light, Obama says of U.S. war role" (The Maui News, May 2) as he proclaims a wind-down to the war in Afghanistan and the withdrawal of all U.S. combat troops by 2014.
With that, the American people will face a dilemma - whether to deconstruct our military industrial monolith with more than 700 military bases in 130 countries around the globe at an annual cost of $700 billion and embrace a social contract with our citizens respecting health care, education and infrastructure as have most other Western societies.
Who among us does not understand that with a $16 trillion debt and a struggling economy, we cannot do both? A line in the sand has been drawn by the two parties for the American people to decide in November. It is a timely question.
David L. Florence
Haiku
