Illinois To End Funding of Alcohol and Drug Programs While Michigan Orders Detroit To Close Half of Its Schools

As we continue to spend billions every week in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, states continue to cut basic programs for lack of funding. The latest is Illinois, which just cut all funding for drug and alcohol abuse treatment in the state and Michigan which has ordered Detroit to close half of its schools (driving class size to 60 students). What is striking is the lack of any connection drawn between these states which are short hundreds of millions of dollars in their budgets and the expenditures of billions each week in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Our leaders, including President Obama, continue to refuse to end these wars while watching our cities and states continue to close or sell off basic services and lands. There is a remarkable disconnect in the coverages of these stories. In oil-rich Iraq, we continue to spend billions of U.S. dollars to prop up the government. In Afghanistan, we have a president who repeatedly refers to us as the enemy and sympathizes with the Taliban. We have a government that is seeking to tax us for fighting their war and a populace that repeatedly states in polls that they oppose our presence. Yet, Obama has kept us in this war for over two years at the cost of lives and treasure.

It defies logic that we continue to deny our children basic education and our citizens basic services to support these wars. The reason is simply a lack of courage among our leaders. Many would rather have our soldiers killed and our states close programs then take personal responsibility in calling an end to our financing of these wars.

Source: Daily Mail

Jonathan Turley