I went to Iraq in 2003 without thinking. I thought what I was told to think, and believed what I was told to believe. The experience of going to war changed my perspective on life and the world we live in. I saw the consequences of war first hand. No one wants to believe that what they are doing for a living is hurting people, I didn't want to believe that I was.

The United States went to the war in Iraq to prevent another war. We believed that this war was the lesser of two evils. No one can predict what would have happened if we didn't start the war, but we do know for certain what has happened because of the war. What we prevented is a mystery.

I am a veteran for the rest of my life, and this will not change. Vietnam Veterans tell me that they are having the same dreams since returning from war; I will be having these dreams the rest of my life too. The Iraqi people will never forget this time in their lives, they will also be dreaming as I do.

Our parents teach us as children not to hit other children on the playground, but for some reason we think it is OK for countries to hit each other. We can learn from our mistakes and refuse to make them in the future. This is our privilege as humans.