Letter to the Editor

Flaws attributed to Bush apply more to Clinton

To the editor:

I feel it necessary to respond to Paul Zmolek's cynical rant regarding President Bush's motivation for pushing military action against Iraq.

President Bush's dealings Harken Oil were fully investigated 10 years ago, and there was no evidence of any illegal dealings. Vice President Cheney sold his Halliburton stock under pressure from the media during the 2000 campaign, and the price went up after he sold his stock. Certainly there is more to be investigated regarding Halliburton and the vice president. If anything illegal is turned up, I will call for his prosecution and am reasonably sure Mr. Zmolek will join me.

President Bush took office in January 2001. The funny business at WorldCom and Enron predated the start of his presidency. Enron had close ties with the Clinton administration. Bill Clinton's Commerce Department cooked the books over the last year of his presidency, inflating economic data to the tune of 30 percent.

I do not believe there is much evidence that Bush has a penchant for obfuscating facts or trying to diver the people's attention. Was it not Clinton who blew up a pharmaceutical plant in Somalia and made big rocks into little rocks in some Asian desert in a supposed attempt to fight terrorism the night before the Monica Lewinsky testimony?

J. THOMAS

Cape Girardeau