The Oreo Cookie Book Club met November 28 at the home of Norton Schwartz to discuss the book, The Forever War, written by newspaper correspondent Dexter Filkins, who was embedded with troops in Afghanistan and Iraq. While the book’s focus was on the daily experience of soldiers and civilians in the country, the discussion inevitably drifted to the history of our involvement in Iraq, with the hubris of Bush, the naivety and ignorance of his advisors and the passivity of the Republican Congress, abetting the action. The false guise of invading in order to find non-existent weapons of mass destruction was reviewed. It is a dismal and costly war that has eroded our treasury and our spirit and the lives of many of our countryman. Afghan is not far behind. There was no meeting of the group in December, giving us time to reflect on the folly of ill-considered foreign policy. The next meeting will be the third Wednesday in January to discuss The Big Burn, by Tim Egan. The location of the meeting is to be determined.
—Norton Schwartz
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