Regarding John Tirman's Jan. 12 article, "U.S. overlooks the true tolls of its wars" (reprinted from The Washington Post): It is hypocritical of President Barack Obama to praise American troops who served in Iraq when he voted against any invasion of Iraq and criticized the previous administration's "rush to war" back in 2003.

Ah, but that was nine years ago and the American public suffers a very short attention span — not much longer than that for a political televised sound bite during this presidential election year. The pundit who referred to America as "the United States of Amnesia" might have been on to something.

A thousand blessings on Tirman and his book "The Deaths of Others: The Fate of Civilians in America's Wars." I've often reflected on this lack of empathy for the millions of war victims killed during America's many overseas military "interventions," which in reality have always been more like military invasions.

The opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are the writer's own and do not necessarily reflect the policies of The Japan Times.

robert mckinney