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Letters to the Editor: Mistreatment of flag disturbing I was appalled at the mistreatment of our nation's symbol by the soldier pictured on the front page of today's Tidings ("Saddam regime crumbles," April 9). I am a former commissioned officer in the U.S. Army Field Artillery. Although I opposed the pre-emptive attack on Iraq, I support our troops and hope this all turns out well. However, it is apparent that the increasingly common disrespect for our flag is not confined to civilians. That soldier deserves a scolding from his officer and the officer should receive a reprimand for using our flag like an old dust rag. It was an eerie, even obscene sight to see the flag I love draped over that tyrant's face. Don Morris, Ashland By the numbers What picture do these numbers paint? $850 billion: Estimated military spending in the world in 2002 50: Percentage spent by U.S. 0.0015: Percentage spent by Iraq. $80 billion: Amount currently proposed by Congress to pay for the invasion of Iraq. $379 billion: Military spending budget proposed for 2003 by President Bush. $48 billion: Increase of U.S. military budget over 2002. $48 billion: $10 billion more than any other country allocates to military spending. $1.4 billion: Iraq's 2001 military budget. $350 billion: Amount of tax cuts Congress is considering approving. $750,000: Unit cost of one Tomahawk cruise missile. 725: Number of missiles used in Iraq by the morning of April 3. $880 million: State of Oregon budget deficit. Sources: U.S. Dept of Defense, Washington Post, Reuters, UPI, Council for a Livable World, Oregon School Boards Assoc. Selene Aitken, Ashland Send Harris to help install Iraq democracy I don't understand why the Bush administration has chosen a retired general to broker the peace in Iraq. After all, they have an experienced expert in "installing Democracy" - I say, send Katherine Harris. It did wonders in the U.S.; the President now has a 73 percent approval rating. In a few years, his numbers will be as good as Saddam Hussein claimed his own were. Scott Calamar, Ashland Guest forum: Tidings, military join forces for war propaganda By Hal Jamison Ashland Sean Wolfe's "Local Marine reacts to anti-war protests" (Tidings, April 8, 2003) is a clear example of newspaper-military linkage for purposes of war propaganda. Wolfe quotes Marine Cpl. Ian Morrison: "� the time for arguing whether the U. S. should or should not be here is over. We're here." The question to the Marines that Wolfe should raise but doesn't is, Why are you there? Have you found weapons of mass destruction? Or was your Commander in Chief's claim that the reason for sending you to Iraq a lie, a lie that you probably recognized as a lie from the first time it was said? Wolfe's passive acceptance of Morrison's implication that the attack on Iraq, ordered by Bush himself, transforms Bush into an emperor whose decisions are not to be questioned also demonstrates his cooperation with military propaganda. "Hometown efforts (should be aimed at giving) the support that a grateful nation can provide", Wolfe quotes Morrison. The gratefulness should go the other way: The nation with 5 percent of the world's population accounts for half the world's military expenditures. That disparity suggests that the nation and the world would be safer places with less military spending by the U.S. The more the American people provide for the military, the more belligerent it - particularly with the current Commander in Chief - becomes. It seems unlikely, for instance, that the U.S. would have been so eager to attack Iraq if the military capabilities of the two countries had been comparable. The omnipotence of U.S. arms has not only resulted in an infinitesimally small ratio of U.S. to enemy, nominal or actual, casualties, but also promiscuous civilian casualties, as in Afghanistan, as well as high rates of friendly fire casualties to our own troops. In that connection, consider that whatever the level of bombast in denunciation of Iraq for harboring weapons of mass destruction, it was only our side that could actually make ammunition out of the waste of nuclear production, that is, depleted uranium. Radioactivity from that source is suspected of causing massive deadly disease after-effects among U.S. troops in the first so-called Gulf War - which could be more accurately named as: "open season on Iraqis, 1991-92" - also in hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, especially children, in the intervening years. This comment on the linking of Tidings news coverage with military salesmanship should not conclude without mention of the contribution of Cpl. Morrison's father to Wolfe's article, who is quoted as saying, preposterously, that "Islamic nations declared war on us 40 years ago, and we've rolled over and ignored it." This idea is stated in racist language, an "Islamic" flea irritating the U.S. - American "dog". It appears, unfortunately, that imagery cultivated in the Morrison household during the Cpl.'s earlier years may have something to do with his being "there" (in Iraq). As for the rationality of the father's perception, it may be pointed out, to start, that it was U.S. dollars and sponsorship that gave Bin Laden and Al Qaida their start in the terroristic war against USSR forces in Afghanistan, with the current vice president as a prominent agent of U.S. help. We must restore calm inside Iraq By Barak Biedak Ashland Choose your battles carefully! Peace at any cost is not peace at all. It can mean oppression and terrible repression. Of course, the latest example is Iraq. Aside from the weapons of mass destruction, the torture, the kidnappings, the killings of the regime, this peace robbed the people of Iraq of their dignity, shame, and honor. Just look at the aftermath. People of all ages locked in a frenzy of looting and destruction. Not even their faith can stop the pillaging and killing when public order breaks down. It is now up to us, their liberators, to restore a sense of peace and calm. Shame on you who opposed this war and denied the pleas of a downtrodden people. Shame on you now who wring your hands and cry alligator tears for the looted and newly dispossessed elite of Iraq. A true revolution is taking place and like the French Revolution, it is not pretty but is definitely necessary. It all will be calm as a new civil order is established. The lies and self-serving propaganda of the Arab TV and press have been exposed as have the lies and self-interest of the French, Germans, and Russians. The so-called "Arab street" is silent and ashamed both at the weakness of the Iraqi armed forces and the genuine joy of the Iraqi liberation. A monumental moment is now at hand. It is time for good people of all beliefs to come together and solve the main stumbling block to world security in the region. Stop the rhetoric of Arafat and his murderous clique and give the new Palestinian government of Prime Minister Abbas the ability to work with the Israelis, the US, the EU, and the Russians so we can truly "Give Peace a Chance." Shalom. LINKS: DAILY TIDINGS: Main | News | Sports | Obituaries | Opinion | Columnists | AP News | Subscribe | Archives | Weather | Classifieds | Contact Us | Privacy REVELS: Main | Calendar | Dining | Movies | T.V. 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