The American Spectator

p> AGAINST THE WORLD br> Re: Afshin Molavi’s Why No Candy and Flowers? /p>

With all due respect to Mr. Molavi, how exactly is he so certain that an errant U.S. missile is responsible for the market bombing? It seems to me that all we have to go on is the word of the Iraqi military. I am not inclined to believe anything come out of the mouth of Tariq Aziz or any of the other lackeys working for Saddam. These were the same clowns who had their forces dress up as Americans and kill Iraqi civilians as a propaganda ploy. They have also started preposterous rumors that the humanitarian aid being delivered throughout the south is poisonous.

While I can certainly understand why the Iraqi people felt betrayed after the Gulf War, I think it is a mistake to look at this war purely in terms of how the civilian dead will affect public opinion. Public opinion is being manipulated every day by anti-war voices who want us to play the body count game. I think this is a dangerous trap which could easily result in a longer, more uncertain campaign which would mean more deaths on both sides. Coalition forces are expected to meet impossibly high standards in waging the war. We are supposed to leave infrastructure magically intact while decimating the enemy. Oh, and then we will be expected to pay for the whole thing and clean everything up after the campaign. Meanwhile, the cowards from Saddam’s regime purposely take cover among the civilian populations — going so far as to hide an entire operational base inside a hospital. There is no honor in this enemy. The regime will topple, but apparently not without dragging many of the common folk with it. War is hell. This one is no exception.

p>Meanwhile, some of us are still struggling with whether we should ever entangle ourselves in foreign affairs or if it would be simpler to send all our troops home and let the rest of the world pound salt. I don’t know if our troops will get candy and flowers, but I am certain that whatever we do (or do not do) the arrogant world community will find some way to demonize our actions (or inaction had we opted out). br> — N. Peralta br> Lakewood, OH /p> p> A PLEA FOR MERCY br> Re: Jed Babbin’s