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Kathryn Thaller: Saddam’s WMD

Some of your readers expressed opinions recently regarding the war in Iraq. Perhaps you will print my letter with opposing views.

One reader criticized President Bush for misleading the country on the issue of weapons of mass destruction. The reader wrote, “There were no weapons of mass destruction.” This statement does not stand up to reason or logic.

Saddam Hussein used weapons of mass destruction at least 10 times. Logic tells us that a person can’t use something he does not have and that a person who uses something must have it. One should ask the questions: Where are they, to whom did he give them, and are they planning to use them against us?



Another reader complained about the death of 600 American service people in Iraq since the war started a year ago. No one wants to see anyone die.

However, Iraq is about the size of California. Statistics reveal that 550 people are killed in California per year, and we are not fighting a war in the state. Why doesn’t she lament those people? Does she not feel sorry for the almost 2,000 people who were killed Sept. 11, 2001? What about the thousands found in mass graves in Iraq, butchered by Saddam? Did she not see the video on television of people in Iraq having their fingers or hands cut off, or of some tied up and thrown from three-story buildings while the Iraqi army cheered and applauded? Can we ignore these things, bury our heads in the sand, and wait for another Sept. 11? Very few of the wars fought anywhere at any time have as few as 600 casualties.



The same reader quoted the Los Angeles Times. I just moved here from Los Angeles in September, and I know how many apologies appeared on their pages for distorting the news. Recently they published a doctored picture of a soldier in Iraq pointing a rifle. A photographer was fired. They do lean to the left.

We should not base our political opinions on one-minute sound bites put out by partisan groups or journalists. Our country needs informed voters who research both sides of an issue.

Kathryn Thaller

Steamboat Springs


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