Staying the course in Iraq
Before the invasion of Iraq, I was a loud voice against it. But the invasion occurred, and as a result of this and the continuing war, the lives of the citizens of Iraq have been made many times worse than under Saddam Hussein. Further, the stage has been set for a continuing sectarian war that is likely to kill and terrorize these same Iraqi citizens for a long time into the future.
For these reasons, I am strongly opposed to our premature withdrawal from Iraq. If we were to pull out before the Iraqis’ lives have been restored to some sort of normalcy, we will have only succeeded in compounding their misery. We have a moral responsibility to leave Iraq and its people in at least as good a condition as when we found them.
Therefore, in my opinion, we are obligated to remain in Iraq until the problems created by the war have been solved, even though this will likely result in the deaths of additional U.S. soldiers and the further erosion of the U.S. financial situation.
Glenn Jacobs, Hartsel
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I received a call from a representative of Congressman Mark Udall, seeking a campaign donation. I was told, among other things, that the prospective senator seeks to end the occupation of Iraq. I replied that Rep. Udall has had the chance to end the occupation already, and has voted for its continuance. When his actions match the rhetoric, I will consider donating to his campain.
Tim McAuliffe, Centennial
Illegal immigration
Re: “Illegal immigration; U.S. backlash rivals that of the early 1900s,” Aug. 19 news story.
Your article arrested my attention in its very first paragraph, with the words “undocumented immigrant,” liberal code for “illegal alien.” The second paragraph mentions “scores of groups ranging from mainstream to fringe groups.” But the article really lost me when the author quoted a source claiming an increase in “just over five years,” from zero to 144, of “nativist extremist” organizations. He conveniently omitted any characterization or number of the “mainstream” groups.
So I gather that all of us legal citizens of the United States are “xenophobic nativist extremists” when we have views that differ from the so- called immigrant “rights” crowd, now numbering many millions.
As a former conservative Republican (who voted for both Gov. Bill Ritter and Sen. Ken Salazar), I do have friends and acquaintances from several ethnic backgrounds, including Hispanic. But to the best of my knowledge, none of them would sanction a newcomer to this nation whose very first action is to violate our laws.
Richard D. Van Lew, Centennial
Hurricane Dean 2?
Hurricane Dean drubbed and drenched Mexico and Jamaica. What does metro Denver have to expect when Howard “Hurricane” Dean hits town with his winds of verbal abuse at the Democratic National Convention?
J.D. Moyers, Centennial
Supporting wildlife
Re: “Not just ‘backyard birdwatchers,’ ‘goose gawkers,”‘ Aug. 21 letter to the editor.
Letter-writer A.J. Hill’s rebuttal to Lou Phillippe’s letter regarding supporters of wildlife is, in fact, the one that is wrong. Certainly, more people participate in wildlife viewing, as loosely as that is interpreted in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife survey of fish and wildlife-related recreation, and they spend massive amounts of money doing it. What Hill does not understand is that little of what is reported as being spent supports wildlife. The spending estimates are for lodging, bird books and other equipment, and meals, fuel and vehicles required for “viewing.”
The more salient questions, using Hill as an example, are: Have you ever helped fund the Colorado Division of Wildlife in any way? Are you a member of the National Wildlife Federation? The Colorado Wildlife Federation? Ducks Unlimited? Trout Unlimited? Have you ever bought a duck stamp? Have you ever contacted a legislator about a wildlife-related statute? Have you ever contacted one of your congresspersons about funding for species of greatest conservation need? Wetland conservation? Federal land management planning? Wildlife conservation provisions of the Farm Bill? In other words, have you ever actually supported wildlife as opposed to just enjoying it at someone else’s expense?
Reg Rothwell, Cheyenne
Fixing public education
I see that after more than 100 years of public education in Colorado, The Post is still publishing articles titled “How can we make public education work?” (Aug. 19 Perspective).
I suggest we take all the people currently running the public education system and reassign them to the brand-new, super-efficient, universal, government-run health care system. Then privatize the schools. Then we will finally have schools that educate students.
Of course, the downside is that 100 years from now, The Post will still be publishing articles titled “How can we make public health care work?”
Paul Kelly, Delta
Online extras
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