LETTERS: BACKERS DESERVE WHAT THEY GET

To the editor:

President Clinton didn't waste any time in committing American troops to Kosovo to intervene in the civil war between the Albanians fighting for independence and the Serbians. In fact, Clinton is overriding major concerns of his own senior Pentagon officials who note that the warmer weather will soon be coming and, along with it, much more bloodshed in a war that can't be won. The administration would commit the troops to the NATO alliance under the command of other U.N. generals.

American generals say that there are no clear-cut military goals and that this will soon involve twice as many troops as Clinton predicts in an open-ended, permanent, costly war that will probably not only end in a Somalia-type fiasco, but will also put our troops at grave danger from terrorist attacks by Islamic radicals connected to Saudi renegade Osama bin Laden.

Bin Laden has declared a worldwide war on Americans, and he is bent on on a jihad against the Great Satan, meaning, of course, Americans. Our troops in Kosovo would be a tempting target, since Kosovo is near the fanatic's bases in Northern Albania. What's more is the fact that Bin Laden has unequivocally stated that all Americans, including those who pay taxes, are targets.

Not to worry, although at a recent Senate hearing, CIA director George Tenet warned against the danger of stepped-up terrorist campaigns, saying that "there is not the slightest doubt that Bin Laden, his worldwide allies and his sympathizers are planning further attacks against us."But wait. We have contingency plans. We are now creating a Domestic Terrorism Team headed by a military commander with a budget of $2.8 billion dollars. A presidential directive to authorize military intervention against terrorism on American soil has already been issued. The Army Times quotes Secretary of Defense William Cohen as saying that "terrorism is escalating to the point that Americans soon may have to choose between civil liberties and more intrusive means of protection."The deputy secretary of defense, John Hamre, has been floating the idea of designating a unit of U.S. troops as Homelands Defense Command to take charge in case of a terrorist attack on U.S. soil. Hamre argues that the military's role should be formalized under a four-star general, and he has even speculated about creating a binational command with Canada and calling it the Atlantic Command.

In 1997, parameters were being discussed in an Army War College publication predicting the growing prospect of terrorism in our own country which will inevitably trigger an intervention by the military. The article goes on to say that "legal niceties or strict construction of prohibited conduct will be a minor problem."Everyone out there who clamored for the acquittal of Clinton deserves what they get.

CHRISTINE E. STEPHENS

Cape Girardeau