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Letters to the Editor: Pointing out the rantings of a conspiracy theory A large part of the U.S. population is against a war with Iraq, yet war nonetheless is close at hand. What we all fear may be about to happen, and right now we desperately need thoughtful suggestions, new ideas, discussion points on how we move forward in these complex times. Yet instead, The Daily Tidings gives us the rantings of a conspiracy theorist (Guest Forum, Jan. 24, 2003). When conspiracies are afoot, common sense, reason and intelligence are insulted, later ignored. I hope those against this war wish to share more well-informed or at least reasonable ideas than what we so often read in The Tidings. By printing this Guest Forum, neither the guest writer nor our local newspaper have added anything useful to the discussion of world affairs. Larry Buchanan, Ashland In support of the Ashland Police This is a letter in support of the conscientious and loving parents of this town who are struggling to raise their children in a climate where illegal drug usage has reached alarming proportions and where a significant segment of the adult community concludes that this is of no concern and has no consequences. The Guest Forum of The Ashland Daily Tidings is hardly an appropriate context for an article encouraging and condoning illegal marijuana smoking, particularly by our young people and blaming the police for enforcing the law. Breaking a law merely because we dislike it is not democracy. It is childish. Blaming the police for the consequences of breaking the law has nothing to do with the democratic process. It is absurd. My letter is also in support of the men and women of Ashland Police Department who do not deserve the derision and contempt expressed in Leah Ireland's recent opinion piece for being consistently appropriate and beyond reproach in their service to our community and concern for its teenagers. Julian Hamer, Ashland In Harold Pinter's own words The famous British playwright Harold Pinter, speaking recently before the House of Commons, had this to say about Bush's obsession with war: The planned war will destroy what remains of the Iraqi infrastructure; will cause widespread death, mutilation, and disease; will create millions of refugees, and violence around the globe. But it will masquerade as a "moral crusade," a "just war," a war waged to bring "democracy" to Iraq. "The stink of hypocrisy," he says, "is suffocating. This is in reality a simple tale of invasion of sovereign territory, military occupation, and control of oil." "We have," he adds, "a clear obligation, which is to resist." Isaac Walker, Ashland Guest forum: U.S. foreign policy is all about the oil, stupid By Robert Jones, Ashland The Gulf of Tonkin incident which plunged us into the Vietnam war and the reasons given for invading Afghanistan were lies. The story of Iraqi soldiers throwing Kuwaiti babies out of their incubators was a lie. In 1990 Bush Sr. said that Iraq had also massed 250,000 troops and 1,500 tanks on the border with Saudi Arabia. Russian satellite photos showed only sand. It was a lie. But George Bush Jr. has more frequent liar miles than any other president. In Oct. 2002, he stated Iraq was rebuilding the Tuwaitha nuclear complex. The inspectors visited the site 12 times. It was a lie. Bush claimed new construction at the Al Quim uranium plant, destroyed in 1991. The inspectors found nothing - another lie. The famous aluminum tubes that Bush told the UN "are used to enrich uranium for nuclear weapons" were found to be for permitted conventional weapons - another lie. The CIA warned that Iraq was using precursors for chemical weapons at Fallujah. The plant had been used for manufacturing chlorine for water purification, the same as in Ashland. Inspectors found the plant inoperative. The CIA next announced Iraq was rebuilding the Al Dawrah, Amiriyah and Fallujah 3 sites, formerly used to produce biological agents. The inspectors found "no evidence" - another lie. The administration then claimed "overwhelming evidence" that Iraq was building long-range missiles. The inspectors visited the alleged site three times - another lie. The CIA also claimed the secular Ba'ath Party in Iraq had supported al-Qaida, their bitter fundamentalist foes, and that Mohammed Atta had met with an Iraqi official in Prague. CIA head James Woolsey even claimed Iraq was behind the anthrax attacks. These claims are similarly false. Chief inspector Hans Blix's report on the first round of inspections was jumped on by the administration to prove that Iraq was not fully complying. But Blix stated in the New York Times on 1/31 that the inspectors found nothing that would be grounds for starting a war. He expressly said that Colin Powell was wrong in saying the inspectors found that Iraq was hiding and moving illicit materials. He further emphasized there was no evidence of Iraqi links to al-Qaida or that Iraq had sent some scientists to Syria or Jordan so they couldn't be interviewed, or that inspections had been hindered by Iraqi agents. And now Colin Powell addresses the UN with new "evidence" of Iraqi intransigence. Why can some states, including North Korea, have nuclear, biological and chemical capability while others can not? The U.S. possesses the biggest stockpiles of all these weapons and was the only country to vote against a UN resolution to enter negotiations to prohibit chemical and biological weapons. The only Middle Eastern country with these weapons is Israel. Countless UN resolutions to inspect these facilities have been ignored by Israel because of the U.S. veto. And few remember Saddam's offer before the Gulf War to leave Kuwait if Israel would leave the illegally occupied Palestinian lands. Saddam was our ally until shortly before the Gulf War. He received most of the materials for his atomic, chemical and biological weapons from Bush Sr. Similarly, in its desire for a pipeline across Afghanistan, the present administration paid the salary of every Taliban official. Colin Powell made their last payment of four million one week before we bombed them. Bush, Cheney and Richard Perle have all stated that we can bomb Iraq even if no illicit weapons are found - hardly a surprise. Since 1967 the U.S. or our client state of Israel has bombed 11 Arab countries. It's the oil, stupid! Reasons for war By Patt Colwell, Ashland What are the reasons to go to war against Iraq? What are the costs? The reasons to use a first-strike strategy are many. If the effort were to be successful, we could guarantee our access to a really lucrative oil field and delay the end of our romance with gas-guzzling vehicles by 10 to 20 years. We could definitely show those terrorists who's the boss. We could put a few people who have been laid off recently back to work making bombs and sewing camouflage outfits. We could give some of our spoiled and cocky teenagers a dose of reality. (They are easily lured into the military with promises of college educations and high-paying careers. Once deployed, they'd grow up fast watching bombs fall on children and other innocents.) And of course, we could help save face for our president. Are these reasons good enough to offset the costs? The costs are high, and may include: The loss of many international allies. (If they didn't hate us before, they will when they see we are willing to bomb schools, factories, hospitals and neighborhoods, and to create even more instability in the region, thereby putting the world at even greater risk.) The depletion of the national treasury by billions - money that could be spent at home maintaining excellence in our schools or improving our national security. (Some assert these are the same thing.) Money that could be spent abroad, feeding people or providing them with the means to have clean water and basic health care. (Some might consider this alternative an investment in good will.) The absence of many in our corps of first response professionals - firefighters, police officers, emergency medical personnel - those whose commitment to the National Guard or Army reserve may take them overseas, leaving the "homeland" vulnerable in the event of an emergency such as a large scale terrorist attack. And of course, the loss of many of our sons and daughters, fathers, sisters, brothers, mothers. The choice may be difficult for some of us. Nevertheless, the choice is ours. Let your congressmen and your president know what you want them to do. Hurry. They really need to know now. LINKS: DAILY TIDINGS: Main | News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Opinion | Columnists | AP News | Subscribe | Archives | Weather | Classifieds | Contact Us | Privacy REVELS: Main | Calendar | Dining | Movies | T.V. OTHER: Road Cams Copyright 2003 Ashland Daily Tidings 541.482.3456. 1661 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, OR 97520. Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. - Advertisers -