The following excerpt was written by Bart Stamper, Viet Nam Special Forces veteran. Bart is also the author of "Memories in Ebony" found in The Rainy Day Room; his reactions on his first visit to the Viet Nam War Memorial. I'd asked him his feelings on Afghanistan and he shared the following excerpt he'd written on war. It really moved me and I asked him for permission to run it here at Sucarha.com.

"The sum total of war is derived from a mad math that only those who are touched by it are able to calculate. War is replete with brutal ironies. It brings life and death together on the same stage. It marries freedom with oppression. It is the highest of callings that requires those who wage it to lay down their lives for their fellow man, and yet it is murderous to its core. Its very nature is conflict and pain, which is its cruel gift to all who get too close. Not to wage it to prevent evil is a great sin, and to wage it under the many guises our adamic natures invent is also a great sin. It is beyond simple conclusion, simple stance as right or wrong – it is often both. It was intended for divine intervention alone against evil, but its potent effectiveness is such an allurement to our lower nature that it strains the very wisdom we need to employ. It is the battleground of angels and demons – and the innocent hang in the balance. In the end, only God will be able to wade into the chaos of wars past, sort it out justly and redeem all." 

 By Bart Stamper. Shared with permission.