Sorry, But I Have a Right to Dissent

The writer of the Sept. 1 letter, "We are in Iraq for good reasons,'' says she's tired of liberal gripes about our country, President Bush and the war in Iraq. The writer compares our involvement in Iraq with our involvement in other conflicts such as World War II, Korea, Vietnam and Bosnia, not because we were attacked but because governments were killing their own people.Those of us who oppose the war in Iraq are also tired of the repetitious support for a war that most Americans and the international community consider to be an illegal war.What is most troubling is the writer's choice for us to either support the government or leave the country. Well, I believe there is another choice and that is to exercise our constitutional prerogative of free speech and dissent when we believe our government is wrong. The framers believed that the government had no right to demand support but instead had to earn it, a concept that seems to totally escape President Bush.If the writer really loves this country, she would support the various investigations that look for answers into what intelligence Bush had before Sept. 11, 2001, whether conflict with Iraq was on the agenda before 9-11, and why Bush spent $200 million on an advertising campaign to sell Americans on the war with Iraq in spite of the fact that the government is prohibited by law from engaging in propaganda. Or is it possible that the writer does not really want to know the truth?

NICK REINA

Milmay

Letter printed in Press of Atlantic City, September 10, 2005

http://pressofatlanticcity.com/sports/story/5601330p-5579604c.html