Dear Sirs

Dear Sirs,


After reading your ad in the tuesday times I have come to be an avid reader of your Internet Jounal/Newsdesk. This may seem a short time to become one of your largest fans in the midwest, but believe me, it is a rare day when someone sparks such a vein in the truth in these United States.

My father served in the Vietnam War as a Leiutenant in the Air Force in Wichita, Kansas. He was afraid of being drafted into the Army, and figured with me as a newborne, his chances of survival were greater on the homefront. He was a non-participant in the action, but he did serve nontheless. He sat in a bunker for weeks on end with his finger on the big red button that would launch tactical nukes payloaded on Titan II Missles.

My position on war has always been that of reserved optimism. You know that saying: "Expect the best but prepare for the worst." I always felt that hearing my fathers stories was a great relief in those times of hatred and misunderstanding. And I was glad that he chose probably the most passive role he could play (besides communications, cook or chaplain). I would have to say that if I were put in the same place as he, I would have supported my country in a similar manner.

Now i am not fooling anyone into believeing that I actually care about most political issues, but on the subject of war I do have somewhat to say. My favorite Websters dictionary defines terrorism as:

"The unlawful use or threatened use of force or violence by a person or an organized group against people or property with the intention of intimidating or coercing societies or governments, often for ideological or political reasons."

I submit to the readers and to you Mr. Paine that this is what the Almighty W is doing. Use of force for the purposes of coercion for ideological reasons. I cannot say it any other way. What we are doing in the old home of the Babylonian Empire is excactly what Saddam did to the Kurds in the years 1979-1988. Killing those who oppose or threaten you.

Any war waged to the effect of stopping a threat that might exist is ludicrous. Peace keeping forces (no matter who they are and what nation they represent) should have been installed after the Persian Gulf War as was installed by the Allies at the end of WWII, to ensure proper treatment of the Kurds. Or perhaps the U.N. could have officially recognized them and they would have status and control of what happens in and about their land.

Terrorism is wrong. Policing is better. Threats come and go and the potential for war is always there. I say there are other alternatives and there always will be. We must recognize things for what they are and take control of every situation. (here I am talking about the sane world in general, not the United States as we tried to in the 'Nam.) If the threat is too great then there are always alternatives. I do not know if I agree with the policies on the whole Bay of Pigs, but you see what I am getting at here.

I support our country, my family, and those that call the U.S.A. a friend. But i support no authoritative dictator who deems himself the man to hold the answers for a better tomorrow, less bio-chem weapons, and cheaper crude oil.

Thank you,

Pauly Hart


Copyright 2003 by pauly hart