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June 29, 2009

Readers' Forum: June 30, 2009

• Don’t forget facts about Iraq war

I have continually heard Democrats use vagaries when defending their positions or when attacking their opponents on issues. They seem to always leave the facts out of the discussions because they have learned that most people won’t take the time to look into the topic. We have short-term memories and they bank on it.

With that said, I’ve grown tired of all this Bush/Cheney blasting in regards to the Iraqi war and its sadistic leader Saddam Hussein. Here are the facts that you continually overlook in all of your bashings. After the first war against Iraq (remember when they attacked Kuwait during H.W.’s presidency) they were required to follow specific sanctions. One of which was submission to inspections to monitor their weapons.

Throughout the ’90s Saddam was a thorn to the Clinton presidency because he would turn inspectors away, refuse to allow them complete access, and even kicked them out of the country. He also attacked the Kurdish people in his own country which was a violation of military aggression.

So what was Clinton’s response to all of this? He directed several missile attacks on Iraq’s military, nuclear, chemical and biological weapon programs. All of which he was not authorized to have or conduct research on. Do you recall, Saddam was killing people, used chemical weapons on people, and continually snubbed the United Nations when they tried to conduct their inspections?

Saddam was a cancer to his people, his country, and to any and all surrounding countries in his area. Clinton knew this and continually authorized aggressive action against Iraq. Not only did Clinton know this but he was supported by the likes of Gore, Kerry, Kennedy, Democrats and Republicans throughout his whole administration. Al Gore went off that H.W. was too lenient toward Saddam and continually referred to Saddam as a terrorist, supported terrorist, used chemical weapons and, yes, even had WMDs.

In February 1998, Bill Clinton addressed the nation that we were on the verge of committing troops to Iraq and repeated this address in December 1998. All the while he used terms such as has WMDs, use of chemical weapons, the killing of their own people and displaying military aggression, and even the discovery of an assassination attempt to be carried out against George H.W. Bush in 1993.

The fact that George W. and Dick Cheney ultimately committed troops showed that Saddam continued his total disregard and disdain to every nation around him including the United States. I did not like that we were doing this, but I supported the decision because Saddam was a tyrant and needed to be stopped. Bush and Cheney told Congress and the American people the same things that Bill Clinton told them. The fact that we did not find WMDs does not diminish the fact that Saddam Hussein was a cancer and that his removal was a necessary evil.

I do not believe that we can sustain our intention of bringing democracy to that country but I completely understand why some individuals need to be dealt with by force.

So why now do the Democrats completely ignore the fact that all this was going on and they were the messengers of the information? Why do they continually try to blame the previous administration while they ignore their own involvement? Because Dubya did what Clinton did not. He settled the matter and gave the Iraqi people a chance. THEY convicted and executed their own leader because THEY had the authority to do so. Only history will show whether or not THEY can truly take control of THEIR country.

Detaining prisoners, gathering “intell” and occupation are all factors of war. The president of the United States has an obligation and responsibility to protect our nation and our troops and should use any measure at his disposal to do so. If a radical terrorist has to be subjected to enhanced measures to secure information then so be it. They were not physically disabled in any way, nor were they killed. Lest we forget, innocent people were beheaded on TV for no crime whatsoever. And you want to cry about torture. You are an idiot and naive.

So when you make an argument against someone, don’t hide behind misrepresentations. As they said on Dragnet, “Just the facts, Ma’am”. We’ll decide.

— Jim Bloom, Terre Haute



• Can anyone explain gas $$ fluctuations?

I have just got back from a wonderful vacation to Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg, Tenn. Besides the beautiful scenery and many places to shop and eat, two other things I also enjoyed:

1. The farther south I drove the cheaper the gas prices were. By the time we got to our destination in Tennessee, it was a nice $2.45 a gallon.

2. Second, and mind you this is one of the most busiest tourist stops in the USA, the whole week we were there, gas stayed at $2.45, no 20 cent rise every day or hour!

I know it’s no use to contact the attorney general in Indiana about price gouging (I guess a rise of 10 percent a day or an hour isn’t gouging) as they do nothing about it at all. Still, I would love to see our fantastic local media (newspaper or TV) do an in-depth story why gas goes up 20 cents at a time but only goes down a penny or two. Can’t wait for that story!

— Matthew J. Voll, West Terre Haute

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