The article "Sources: Probes ignored McChrystal’s role in strikes on Afghanistan outposts" (Feb. 22) quotes Rear Adm. Gregory Smith, as spokesman for Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, on the decision to maintain an outpost in Barg-e-Matal in Afghanistan. He said that "the investment has paid dividends."
The investment to which he refers is the death of four soldiers. I don’t contest the military necessity of the outpost at Barg-e-Matal; certainly I won’t second-guess the commander’s decision. My concern is that these "investments" had names; they had families.
Perhaps I’m out of my place to comment publicly on Smith’s choice of words, but it seems to me a cold sort of battlefield arithmetic to describe these soldiers’ sacrifice in financial terms.
If our investments are made in terms of folded flags, then I should like to know in what terms our dividends are paid.
Capt. Timothy BrooksForward Operating Base Constitution, Iraq