Bush Juggernaut Rolls Toward War

What other countries that have weapons of mass destruction are these hawks going after, or have President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney been successful in getting Enron and Halliburton off the front page? We Americans had better not listen to Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld in saying that we will go it alone (Aug. 28). My duty to my country in World War II was to defend freedom in the world. We were not the aggressor. We need cooler heads.

Edward Brown

Dana Point

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Don’t the resistance of our allies, the negativity of public opinion and the danger of a massive and irreparable meltdown of Asia and the Middle East mean anything to the warmongers at the White House?

No valid reasons have been given for this attack on Iraq except that Bush, National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, Rumsfeld and Cheney want it. Why? What corporation has been promised Iraq’s oil fields? Who has given a thought to the Iraqi people? Why don’t we fix Afghanistan and the Israeli-Palestinian problems first? And why, oh why, does Bush assume he will get another term in which to fix the mess he’s rushing us into?

J. Fairchild Williams

Claremont

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“Arab Resolve Deepens Against Invasion of Iraq” (Aug. 28) underscores a fundamental failure on the part of our government to treat our oil reserve as a matter of national security. Imagine how many years of oil independence we would have if the government had continued to stockpile oil since the program was first started in the 1970s. It surely would make our political position stronger in times of tensions in the Middle East.

David Kowal

Los Angeles

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The reason why the Europeans do not support us is because they are hooked on oil from the Middle East. They will always side with the Saudi oil suppliers. To get back at the U.S. for his humiliating defeat during the Gulf War, Saddam Hussein will try to inflame U.S.-Middle East tensions by attacking Israel, either with chemical, biological or nuclear weapons.

Israel, which exercised enormous restraint under pressure by the U.S. when Iraq tried to goad it into war, will not hold back this time. If Israel nukes Baghdad, millions of innocent people will die. The Muslim countries will unite against Israel and the U.S. The world economy, and your pocketbook, will be in shambles, stupid.

Henry Sakaida

Temple City

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Not since the days of Mussolini invading Ethiopia have we seen the sort of bravery that Bush is showing against Iraq. Our fearless leader has earned a new title: Il Dunce.

Brian Scanlon

La Palma

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One important question remains not only unanswered but unasked. When do we activate the draft?

Royce D. Stauffer

Carpinteria