Get rid of war mentality
I see George Trout (York Sunday News, July 22) has subscribed to the right-wingers' conspiracy theory of global terror.
There is not a coordinated effort by "Islamo-fascists" (could right-wing Christians be called "Christian-fascists") to take over the world.
Trout says we've been at war since 1983, when 220 U.S. Marines were killed in a bombing in Lebanon. This was a result of one of Ronald Reagan's many misguided foreign policies (the U.S. was supporting Saddam Hussein during that time, remember?)
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If there has been a war going on since 1983, how come the Bush Administration wasn't more prepared for the 9-11 attacks? Osama bin Laden said in January, 2001 he was planning a major attack on the U.S. Even some of the elements, like planes into buildings, were known by various intelligence agencies, like the CIA and FBI, but because of competition between them and lack of cooperation, the pieces weeren't put together until too late. Clinton Administration officials warned the Bush Administration about al-Qaida, but the warnings were ignored. The creation of a Homeland Security Department has done little to coordinate U.S. intelligence analysis.
Illegal immigration has little to do with terrorism. There may be a handful of terrorists among the 11 million illegal immigrants in this country. If these people can be rounded up and sent back from where they came, good. But the people who don't want this are the agribusiness owners who can pay these people paltry wages to do jobs most Americans don't want to do.
The "War on Terror" is like the "War on Poverty" or the "War on Drugs:" There will always be poverty, drugs and terror. The best way to reduce the terror threat is to reduce motivation. Bin Laden's motive for the 9-11 attacks was the presence of U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia. The U.S. presence in Iraq is a huge recruiting tool for terrorists. We need to get out of Iraq as soon as possible (but not so precipitously that we leave behind a huge store of material. About 20 percent of all tanks, trucks, helicopters, etc. that the U.S. Army owns are in Iraq).
Is our goal in Iraq to prop up a Shiite government that will never be accepted by the Sunnis? There is civil war in Iraq now and it will continue whether U.S. troops are there or not. The U.S. can't "win" in Iraq, no matter how many troops are committed. Diplomacy and toning down rhetoric is needed. Getting rid of a war mentality would be a good first step.
Turk Pierce
Springettsbury Township
Very well said! Mr Trout is just another in the line of Fox News watching, Limbaugh listening parrots, that repeat what Hannity, and those ilke say, without the benefit of listening to common sense and logic, and a look at the history in that part of the world.