‘Collateral Damage’ Hides the Truth

* The only Orwellian jargon being spread is by Hussein Ibish himself (“Orwell Would Revel in ‘Collateral Damage,’ ” Commentary, April 9). To compare the victims of the Oklahoma City bombing with the civilians killed both by the Desert Storm bombings and subsequent economic sanctions defies any semblance of logic.

The bombing of Iraq was the result of an invasion of a sovereign nation by an outlaw state. The retaliatory bombings were carried out by a coalition of nation states with the full legal authority of the United Nations. Every effort was made to avoid civilian loss. Iraq was repeatedly directed to withdraw from Kuwait and avoid hostilities. At any time, Saddam Hussein could end the bombings just as he can now elect to end the current sanctions by complying with the terms of the original cease-fire agreement.

The Oklahoma City bombing was an act of terrorism directed at innocent civilians by a madman. The act was timed to kill as many people as possible. There was no warning or opportunity to evacuate the building.

There is simply no comparison and no amount of pro-Iraqi spin, McVeigh media frenzy or Orwellian nonsense that can change these simple facts.

TIM MAYEDA

Yorba Linda

*

Ibish’s excellent commentary on “collateral damage” is very well taken. We depersonalize those we kill or maim: an aborted child is a “fetus,” an innocent civilian killed by one of our own soldiers is, as Ibish points out, “collateral damage.” However, I think I remember the term going back at least to the war in Vietnam, where there were plenty of children and other civilians killed and maimed.

NANCY HILL

Nevada, Mo.