What a shame Mr. Jansen is done with this subject, as I was just getting warmed up. I can’t be “done” with this subject because the error has not been corrected. I can’t be “done” because the same fool who started this whole mess is still the President, and barring his impeachment and removal, will remain so for another two years. And I’m not “done” because people like Mr. Jansen continue to publish their folderol which flies in the face of all the evidence.

Mr. Jansen cites a letter by a member of Saddam’s secret police about a conversation between an Iraqi intelligence source and a Taliban Afghani consul as proof of an Iraqi/al Qaeda tie.

Now this one is really rich. We start a war, kill 100,000 people, lose 3,000 of our own with 23,000 horribly wounded, spend a trillion dollars, endanger our own security, and set the Middle East on its ear because of a letter?

If this isn’t an example of searching until you find support for your pre-conceived notion, I don’t know what is.

The fact is, and the 911 Commission report bears this out, while there were feelers put out by both groups, there was never any substantive relationship.

And what about those rewards to the suicide bombers? I’m not talking about Saddam’s, but rather the wonderful telethons held by our friends the Saudis. In any case the rewards were to bombers in Israel, not the United States.

[As to] his other bizarre reference to a so-called Operation Merlin, I have no idea as to its origin or connection with the subject of the war in Iraq. And my reference to Mel Gibson and “Braveheart” was merely illustrative, Mr. Jansen. Surely a talented linguist could ascertain my unveiled allusion.

Mr. Jansen finds my style slightly personal, perhaps too pugilistic. I can only say that like Natalie Maines and the Dixie Chicks, I’m not ready to make nice, and I’m not ready to back down.

This country could not even have a decent conversation concerning this war when the idea was entertained back in 2002. Karl Rove, George W. Bush, Zell Miller, and the Republican Party personalized the subject for purely political reasons.

Those of us who questioned this headlong rush to war were called “un-American,” often by people like Mr. Jansen. Bush held a critical vote immediately before a critical midterm election. Saxby (draft dodger) Chambliss superimposed Osama Bin Laden’s face over that of Max Cleland. Astute historians like Newt Gingrich went along with what he knew to be wrong for the sake of the party.

Thomas Paine in “The Rights of Man” wrote about true debate in a democratic society: “... it is debated on with the spirit of men, and the language of gentlemen; and their answer or their address is returned in the same style. They stand not aloof with the gaping vacuity of vulgar ignorance, nor bend with the cringe of sycophantic insignificance. The graceful pride of truth knows no extremes, and preserves in every latitude of life, the right-angled character of man.” We fell victim to a headlong rush for war.

Four years later here is what they have accomplished:

1. Turned a secular state into a haven for Islamic terrorists.

2. Wasted huge military resources on the basis of solely ideological reasons.

3. Emboldened Iran to assert regional and possibly nuclear hegemony.

4. Emboldened North Korea in their nuclear ambitions.

5. Stretched U.S. military resources to their breaking point.

6. Destroyed thousands of American lives, hopes and dreams

7. Made the world a far more unstable, unsafe place, thereby reducing our national security

And let’s just clarify one more thing. People join the military to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic, not to protect us.

It is a fine point but one every civilian should realize. Military actions are for the continuance and protection of a system of government and a way of life.

We as a people need to stop being scared, turn and face the enemy, and not be led astray by cynical politicians who figure they will muddle their way through. I’m not scared, but I am angry.

Timothy J. Parker
Peachtree City, Ga.