Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, February 8, 1991 TAG: 9102080708
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-11 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Our original involvement was to set up a defensive force in Saudi Arabia, but a decision was made to go on the offensive to liberate Kuwait and announce it only after the elections. Now it appears that Bush is trying to destroy the government of Iraq, which would create a power vacuum more dangerous than the one in Lebanon (recently filled by our ally Hafez Assad, the "butcher of Syria").
Americans have been fed the line that Iraq would not negotiate when in fact, Bush has been intransigent at every point - to the extent that he would not even consent to talks on the Palestinians after Iraqi withdrawal. At the outset of the crisis, Bush avoided another opportunity to defuse the situation when he persuaded Saudi Arabia not to join talks with the Arab League to find a solution.
President Bush is driven by his desire to establish the United States as the policeman of the world. Peaceful conflict resolution never played a role in his thinking. Saddam, abhorrent as he is, still raises a moral question about the Palestinian homeland that is supported by a number of long-standing United Nations resolutions, and which clearly exposes our duplicity.
If you want peace, you must work for justice. Americans can win the war, but can we ever win the peace? We will pay a heavy price for decades to come for the satisfaction of a military win.
Let's have an immediate cease-fire and begin talks. There has to be another way to end the holocaust taking place and get our troops home safely. Let's stop using our advanced technology to systematically terrorize another country. Congress should begin to provide sane leadership, and representatives and senators who jumped on the bandwagon after Jan. 15 should be called to task. Going to war was wrong before the 15th and it still is. CYNTHIA MUNLEY SALEM
by CNB