Obama the lesser of two evils, says soldier

THE ELECTION of Barrack Obama as US president will not bring the recent wartorn history of the country to an end, a veteran of the Iraq war claimed last night.

Chris Capps-Schubert (25) told a meeting at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin that Mr Obama was “ the lesser of two evils” involved in the recent presidential race, but that his plans to transfer troops from Iraq to Afghanistan were questionable and could lead to further conflict.

“I think this plan to escalate in Afghanistan is bad bad news. Some of the fighting in Afghanistan is happening very close to the border with Pakistan too.”

He said soldiers in Afghanistan were faced with a far more daunting task than their counterparts in Iraq as they were operating in a more volatile environment, in which many were scared of their duties and fighting a war he believes will be difficult to win.

“It’s not an ethical question, it’s a logistical question. Ghengis Khan couldn’t successfully occupy Afghanistan and he was completely ruthless. Russia couldn’t do it, Britain couldn’t do it, it’s just one of those places that is really difficult to control,” he said.

Mr Capps-Schubert, a Texas native, was speaking as part of a series of talks the Abbey has hosted in recent months.

He is a member of an organisation called Iraq Veterans Against the War, which was formed in 2004 to voice the concerns of active service people and veterans who are against the war.

Mr Capps-Schubert joined the US army reserve in 2004, initially in an attempt to raise money for his third level education.

He signed up for active army duty in September 2005 and was trained in communications while based in Germany prior to being deployed to Camp Victory in Baghdad in later that year, where he would repair phone and computer lines to Abu Ghraib prison.

Mr Capps-Schubert also criticised the part Ireland played in the wars by allowing US aircraft to use Shannon Airport as a stop-off point on flights between the Middle East and the US.

“Saying that you’re going to declare this war illegal and that you’re not going to be a part of it but still helping in this way seems a little hypocritical,” he said.