A Letter the Tulsa World Wouldn't Print

J. Williams of Tulsa couldn't get the Tulsa World to publish his letter to the editor so at his request, I'm pleased to print it here so his voice can be heard. It's based on an interesting premise, what if...:

Dear Editor,

What if the US and Britain had not invaded Iraq and toppled Saddam Hussein? If that war had not happened where would we be today?

First, Saddam Hussein would probably (though not assuredly) still be in power and still be a cruel dictator to his people. He would still be a local menace. There would still be no weapons of mass destruction to be found or used – especially if the inspectors were still there. Most importantly, the over 1,000 American soldiers who have given their lives in service to their country – would still be with us. Our country would still have the $200-400 billion dollars we have spent on the war and its aftermath in Iraq. We could have put that money in our pockets or spent it on our own infrastructure. Our economy would be stronger and our deficits less critical.

On the terrorism front we would undoubtedly have spent the last two years focused on rooting out the terrorists that actually attacked us and may well have found the real target, Osama bin Ladin. We would have focused on Afghanistan and Pakistan where the real problem is and might even have had time to deal with North Korea’s nuclear threat and the nascent nuclear threat of Iran. Iraq would not be the real hotbed of terrorist activity it has become.

Our standing in the world would not be at the all time low that it is now. Our businesses and products would be more welcome around the world. Our nation would still be unified in its war on terrorism and we would not have spent so much time and energy with the Iraq distraction.

This would be a different world altogether if this Administration had not been hell-bent on taking us into the quagmire and distraction of Iraq. The price we and others have paid were not even close to being worth the benefits. Yet our President feels everything is just fine. What better reason do we need to remove him from office?

J. Williams
Tulsa