Until last Monday, the war in Iraq hadn’t touched me directly.

Sure, I’d seen many effects of our five-year attempt to democratize a badly split Arab country.

The war propelled our nation’s deficit to record levels. It weakened our armed forces so much that we’re hard-pressed to maintain the present surge and probably couldn’t mount another big military effort anywhere else in the world.

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It caused us to underfund many needs of the nation, states, counties, cities, universities, community colleges, public schools, regulatory agencies, border security, airport and seaport security, air traffic control, medical care and poverty programs, elderly and pre-school programs and other necessities the federal government has traditionally helped provide.

I’m concerned about the long-term consequences of our rising national debt to China and other nations, our loss of jobs to other countries, the elimination of domestic jobs and the inability of our education system to excel internationally.

But those concerns haven’t seriously impacted me ... yet. My children haven’t fought in Iraq. My 18-year-old grandson isn’t in danger of being drafted to fight there.

My wife and I haven’t received any big tax cuts since the war began, but we have enough to live comfortably. Best of all, we and our extended family are in good health.

I learned on July 30 that Jesse Latas, a 22-year-old Iraq war veteran from Oro Valley, had died. I only met him a couple of times, but he’s the first Iraq casualty I’ve known. I knew too many from Korea, Vietnam and the Cold War.

Our government may not count Jesse as a war casualty. He had leukemia as a child, fought to bring it into remission and pushed hard to join the military, just as his parents, Jeff and Salette, had done.

He succeeded, finished basic training and went to Iraq. His dad, an Air Force pilot from the first Gulf War and his mother, who also served in the Air Force, were concerned about Jesse, but they were proud of his win over leukemia and his decision to join the Army.

Jesse helped Jeff’s unsuccessful bid for the District 8 Democratic congressional nomination last year and planned to help Salette run for the Oro Valley Council in 2008.

Then it happened. Whether it was triggered by the intense Iraq desert heat, stress or something we or other combatants have unleashed in the Middle East, Jesse’s leukemia returned.

He was evacuated to Germany, then sent home. After a lot of treatment and a bone marrow transplant, the disease seemed to be in remission.

Jesse’s family and friends hoped he had won again.

Instead, leukemia took his life.

I hope our nation recognizes his death as war-connected, but I’m pessimistic. I remember my friend, neighbor and co-worker, Buck Glenz, who died of a brain tumor a decade or more after being exposed to Agent Orange during two tours in Vietnam.

Officials first denied any link between Agent Orange and his death or those of other Vietnam vets who had been exposed to it. Years later, when they could no longer deny the evidence, a few officials finally apologized.

So today, as Arizona’s two U.S. senators and other politicians continue to push the surge in Iraq, a tiny handful of brave Americans and their families are preparing for third, fourth or fifth tours of duty in a Middle Eastern civil war. Most of us aren’t involved.

I wonder when we’ll learn. And I wonder when we in business will decide our nation needs a change in course, no matter how profitable and comfortable the last few years have been for some.

Then we must do something about it ... for Jesse Latas, Buck Glenz and the rest of us. 

 E-mail comments for publication to editor@azbiz.com. Steve Emerine, a Tucson resident since 1960, has run Steve Emerine Strategic Public Relations since 1994. He is a former local newspaper reporter, editor and columnist and served as Pima County Assessor from 1973 to 1980. He is a regular Monday guest on the John C. Scott radio talk show, which airs from 3 to 5 p.m. weekdays on The Jolt KJLL 1330-AM. This column appears weekly in Inside Tucson Business.