Superficial approach

I noticed that the junior reporter of the OA, Crosby Swanson, displayed some moments of juvenile mentality and brain fog in a recent column.

It seems that Swanson was attempting to offer some kind of rationale to legitimize President Bush's decision to invade Iraq in 2003.

Swanson makes some incredibly naive and totally ignorant observations about several pretenses that led up to the Iraq War. He mentioned that there were "petty disputes about WMD, which were irrelevant." He argued that even if there was no "link between Saddam Hussein and al-Qaida ... it was still noble of President Bush to give the order and have Hussein taken down." He ridicules the people of Iraq by stating that we are "fighting the lowest of the low" by forgetting to differentiate between the terrorists and the Iraq citizens when the lines were completely blurred in the ensuing civil war.

Swanson's shoot-from-the-hip opinions reflect his complete lack of understanding and knowledge on the entire issue.

Perhaps it might be a good idea to review some good old-fashioned facts. All of these were later, though reluctantly, admitted by Bush and Cheney.

>> There were no WMDs in Iraq. They were destroyed after the 1990 Gulf War Desert Storm.

>> There was no evidence found of a connection between Saddam Hussein and 9/11.

>> There were no Iraqis involved in 9/11, most were Saudia Arabians.

>> There was no al-Qaida element in Iraq at the time of invasion. It materialized in the chaos and vacuum created after the invasion.
The $750 billion spent on a war that was started on false pretenses is enough of a fiasco for the American taxpayers. The blood and wounds of our incredibly brave soldiers and their families paid the highest cost of all. This war should not have been initiated in Iraq. It should have been staged in Afghanistan  where the fight against terrorism is now shifting. The real criminal of 9/11 hides in Afghanistan and his name is Osama bin Laden. This is where the fight needs to be.

Of course, Saddam was a monster to his own people and a ruthless dictator. But there are many nation states with ruthless dictators and we don't invade them non-provoked do we?

Buck Walters
Odessa

EDITOR'S NOTE: Swanson has left the OA to enter the teaching profession.