Today the news is all about President Bush and the looming war in Iraq.
Questions being asked of his vice president, Dick Cheney, who appeared on two t.v. programs, are; "Has the President given up on a diplomatic solution to the problem?" and, if he has, "When will the takeover of Iraq start?" "Will Saddam be allowed to leave the country, if he wants to do so?"
There have been hundreds of other questions asked this morning and few have been answered satisfactorily, in my opinion.
The vice president and Colin Powell are continuing to harp back to things which occurred before the first gulf war and during that conflict as reasons to continue the military buildup and invasion of Iraq. They hint at information which they contend proves Iraq is harboring "weapons of mass destruction" but fail to offer any concrete evidence. Mr. Cheney stated that even if Saddam disposed of all his weapons, it would still be necessary to change leadership of Iraq because, if he remained in power, a new build up of "weapons of mass destruction" would be undertaken.  So, it appears abundantly clear that the President and his men apparently had a change of regime in Iraq as the predominate reason for invading that country. This is contrary to the U.S. policy for over 200 years and Cheney admitted as much, saying that times have changed.
Times have changed, however, it seems that some of our leaders are trying to force a change in our approach to world affairs which I predict will result in a change in the way we are viewed by other countries and I don't believe it will be favorable.
We are now the most powerful nation in the world but should we start "bullying" our way around and start overthrowing governments of countries we don't agree with? Absolutely Not!
We have not been attacked by any foreign government, including Iraq and it would be foolish for any country to do so. Why then, are our leaders and some other Americans so afraid of other countries that we would deem it necessary to attack and change their governments?
We must face the fact that there are differences in religion, cultures and politics everywhere and there will always be those who will show hatred for our way of life. Extremist will continue to try to harm us, even from within our own country as Timothy McVey did in Oklahoma City. Using terrorism as an excuse to invade any country is risky even at its best.
Only time will tell whether President Bush and his men have chosen the right course. We wait for the verdict! G. L. H. 

What Might Go Wrong in Iraq

We must be prepared for some disappointments if this administration leads us into a conflagration  in Iraq, because wars have a tendency to present surprises.
President Bush has appeared to want to rush to action, discounting the work of the arms inspectors as ineffective and of minor value in the disarmament of Iraq and it now appears he will continue with his plans without the backing of the UN.
Saddam is in a corner now, he's "dammed" if he does and "dammed" if he doesn't comply with the UN order, so what will he do, no one knows.
During the Gulf War the Iraq soldiers appeared to be happy to surrender, but would they have given up so easily had they been in their own country and fighting for its survival? I predict they won't.
Our troops face great dangers the moment they cross the line between Kuwait and Iraq. If there are chemical and biological weapons in Iraq and Saddam is one half as "bad"as President Bush has described him, there is little doubt he will use these weapons on our troops.
We have heard about many of the protective suits which have been issued to our men being defective. If this is true, how many might die of exposure to these weapons? No body knows....
Will the nations around Iraq stand idly by and see their religious brothers destroyed, or will they take to arms and attack our armies, thinking they may be next in this effort to change the governments of the area? I believe there is a strong possibility our leaders may be in for some surprises there..
Israel could easily become a target of some of it's neighbors as our troops enter Iraq, how will they respond? If they respond to an attack, will other countries who have no love for the Jews join together to subdue them? It's entirely possible!
While there is no doubt that the US can prevail in a war with Iraq and President Bush has made a point that we will supply the people with food, medicine and other things, will our people be accepted as liberators, or will the citizens fight to their death? This seems to be a big question, and rightly so, because a hate for Christians and Jews has been instilled in the hearts of these people for thousands of years. This hatred will not be appeased by a loaf of bread and a bottle of wine or medicine.
Who will bear the cost of this invasion of Iraq and the rebuilding of the country? The working class citizens of America will! Sons and daughters of the working class will fight this war and those who live through it will return home to work and pay for it, while the rich are granted tax cuts and our senior citizens are left to decide between food and medicine when they receive what is left of their Social Security funds.
We should all ask ourselves, Is Mr Bush's War worth the Price in Lives and our Country's Future? I believe Not!
G. L. H.