Americans should be angry at lies, loss of life

To the editor:

The Bush administration said Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, a potential nuclear capability and links to al-Qaida and terrorism. The imminent threat that these posed to the United States and the world were the justifications for war. Many Americans chose to believe their president, and Congress succumbed to fears these claims generated.

Most peoples and governments throughout the world refused to bow to Bush persuasion and pressure. Months after U.S. troops gained the freedom to inspect at will, no evidence supporting the Bush claims has been found. So far, France and the world are vindicated. Certainly, U.S. troops very quickly defeated the forces of a third-rate military power that was in the process of disarming, and a corrupt dictator is no longer in power. However, Iraq remains largely in chaos. Initially favorable responses among Iraqis are being replaced by resentment at the occupying forces. The promise that liberation would bring them freedom to determine their own destiny has not been fulfilled, and American lives are lost on an almost daily basis.

At home, the freedoms for which so many U.S. troops have valiantly fought and died are crushed as Sept. 11, 2001, becomes the Bush administrations excuse for a PatriotAct that suppresses civil liberties. Meanwhile, Dick Cheney's Halliburton makes billions. We see what war is all about.

Why aren't more Americans angry at the lies and loss of life their president has brought us?

ALAN R.P. JOURNET

Cape Girardeau