Terror war and Cold War
Re: “How will history view the war on terror?” Sept. 12 Open Forum.
A letter-writer stated that 50 years after the Cold War began, “we see the mistakes we made by assigning broad umbrellas and saying either they were with us or against us.”
I assume that these mistakes include freeing millions of people from oppressive communist regimes that murdered more than 100 million of their own people. Breaking the Iron Curtain and extending freedom to dozens of nations. Knocking down the Berlin Wall. All of this while never firing a single missile.
For some reason, I think the Cold War was a success. I also believe that most people on the planet feel the same way. During the Cold War, we heard all of the same things we hear today. We heard that Ronald Reagan was a monster who was creating enemies, the same things we are hearing about the current president. Now, I have no idea how history will judge President Bush and the war on terror, but I do know that we heard all of the same criticisms during the Cold War. We won that war, and history has shown a positive light on our actions. It is possible that the same thing will happen again.
Shane Sokol, Denver
Are we safer than before?
The fact that five years have passed since Sept. 11 without an attack on our homeland is repeatedly offered as proof, by administration supporters, that we’re now safer than before. The reality is that 8 1/2 years elapsed between the two attacks on the World Trade Center. Those who think we’re safer should be reminded that the Muslim fanatics declared war on us more than a quarter-century ago when they invaded the U.S. Embassy in Iran in 1979 and held 52 Americans hostage for 444 days. Since then, they have escalated their attacks against American and Western interests in Europe, Africa, Asia and North America, and are certainly planning even more devastating strikes. The hiatus since Sept. 11 is merely the calm before the storm.
Julius Roth, Castle Rock
Housing slump?
Re: “Housing slump deepens,” Sept. 6 news story.
As I read this article, I learned that nationwide house prices climbed almost 3.4 percent, Colorado house prices climbed 4.2 percent, and Boulder, Denver, Colorado Springs, Fort Collins and Grand Junction experienced increases between 1.2 percent and 14.1 percent in the first half of 2006. Greeley bucked the trend with a 0.35 percent decline in the same period. I’ll give you this much – by going to a small, mostly rural area, you were able to find a place where house prices declined. But the overwhelming evidence in your article points to continued rise in real estate prices, albeit at a slower rate. Since when have price increases been a slump? One wonders what your headline would say in the face of actual declines in house prices. When your headline isn’t even supported by the text of the article it heads, your credibility is suspect.
Conrad Parrish, Evergreen
Global-warming problems
Re: “New global-warming peril found,” Sept. 7 news story.
The Post’s article on the impact of the thawing permafrost in Siberia on global warming was very worrisome. Specifically, scientists believe that this particular cause of climate change could alone release 100 times more carbon into the atmosphere than what is produced by the burning of fossil fuels. What this tells me is that ordinary citizens, businesses and governments need to take immediate and significant action towards addressing global warming.
I couldn’t help but notice the big news on energy earlier this month was the oil discovery in the Gulf of Mexico. While this discovery is important for many reasons, our nation and world need to begin putting the same kind of human energy and financial resources into addressing the real and significant effects of climate change. If we don’t act soon, we’ll be leaving our children and grandchildren a planetary debt that will dramatically change life on Earth.
Now is the time for political and individual leadership on this defining issue of our time. I hope that Colorado and the United States are among the leaders.
Will Shafroth, Boulder
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