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Politics : Stockman Scott's Political Debate Porch -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: stockman_scott who wrote (56970)	9/23/2004 1:14:26 PM
From: Mannie	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 89467

Thursday, September 23, 2004 Letters to the Editor IRAQ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ P-I helped sell 'mess' to its subscribers Friday's editorial "From bad to worse" used the word "mess" to describe the situation in Iraq. Iraq is not a "mess." It is a systematic assault by U.S. occupation forces on Iraqi civilians. The U.S. Apache helicopter attack on crowds gathered around a burning Bradley fighting vehicle the other day is a case in point. As for the "war on terror," reporters in Iraq parrot Central Command descriptions of bombing Iraqis in their homes in Fallujah as "precision" strikes on "foreign terrorists." Are there anti-U.S. foreign fighters in Iraq? Most assuredly. Meanwhile, we bomb Fallujah, and the dead and wounded overwhelm local hospitals.The P-I helped sell this "mess" from the get-go, rarely offering critiques of the war plan or dissenting views, and never acknowledging what was obvious to millions around the world: that the Iraq war is illegal, a violation of international law and the U.N. Charter's prohibition against the Bush doctrine of pre-emptive war. The P-I played its part in shaping the delusional view still held by a shockingly high percentage of Americans -- that there's a connection between Iraq and 9/11. Despite Dick Cheney's claims, there is no connection. If civil war breaks out in Iraq, we can thank Bush and his neocon war makers. So far, this "mess" has killed more than 1,000 young Americans and untold thousands of Iraqi innocents. Worst of all, the killing will go on and on. Neither Bush nor John Kerry has a plan to end the bloodshed. Iraq is more than a mess. Let's call Bush's war what it is: a crime against humanity. Ed Harkness Shoreline Bush should own up to being young, irresponsible Anyone who was at all coherent during the Vietnam War years probably knows far more men who did anything they could to get out of serving than those who voluntarily enlisted. All George W. Bush needs to say to put the whole National Guard issue to bed is "I was young and irresponsible. I didn't always make the right choices. I, like others, did what I could to avoid service. In retrospect it was not the honorable thing to do and I am not proud of my actions." I am perplexed by the press and their focus on this issue. Either they are all young and have no insight as to how things were in those days or they lived through it and are in denial. To me the elephant in the room is the fact that a man who did not serve has turned the tables to the point that one is questioning John Kerry's service. I personally don't care if Kerry bled or not. He volunteered and experienced the horror that was the Vietnam War and was lucky enough to make it home in one piece. Bush is skating on thin ice. What do you think is going through the minds of young troops in Iraq when the man who put them in harm's way has the gall to criticize the service record of one who put his life on the line? Where would we all be today if everyone took the road Bush took? Susanne Dubois Duvall Can we expect shower of rose petals from Iraqis? A number of months ago, when the Iraqi insurgency began, President Bush said, "Desperate people do desperate things." He stated that the violence was a desperation that clearly demonstrated that we "had them on the ropes" and their collapse was imminent. It's comforting to know that, based upon the recent unprecedented violence throughout the country, the terrible loss of life in Iraq will probably be over in the next few days and the Iraqi people will finally have the freedom to shower our troops with rose pedals. Tom Leurquin Bainbridge Island War makers reap profits without making sacrifices Sunday's Letters section contains another letter suggesting we get tough with the insurgents in Iraq. I was reminded of the recent debate between filmmaker Michael Moore and right-wing commentator Bill O'Reilly. Moore challenged O'Reilly to say that he would be willing to sacrifice his children for Fallujah. O'Reilly answered that he would be willing to sacrifice himself. I would have broken out laughing were it not so pathetic. The tough talking chickenhawks and their apologists such as O'Reilly and Rush Limbaugh never saw a minute of combat. Sacrifice? They sacrifice nothing except the lives of American troops and Iraqi civilians, which obviously mean nothing to them. How long will the American public allow itself to be deceived by these hypocrites? Safe in their mansions these mega-wealthy war-profiteers reap all the benefit and pay none of the price. Richard Meisenholder Bellevue