A QUESTION Editor -- I have a serious question for those who say that we should attack Iraq. The rationale for such an attack seems to be this: Saddam Hussein is working hard to acquire weapons of mass destruction; and, once he has them, he will use them.I think that there are some people who would answer this "serious question" with a yes. But they would either have to be a pinhead, like Thomas E. Braun, or a Nazi, like Thomas' favorite aunt Eva Braun.I share your revulsion for human monsters who would do this -- who, in fact, have done this. You see, I live in a nation that not only worked hard to acquire nuclear weapons, but used them -- and not in direct combat situations but in urban terrorist attacks meant specifically to shock the target nation by incinerating many thousands of innocent mothers and children in their homes and schools.
So here's the question: In, say, 1944, would you have supported another nation's invasion of the United States to destroy our nuclear weapons facilities at Los Alamos, Oak Ridge and Hanford?
THOMAS E. BRAUN
San Jose
Bill Quick has a longer response to this letter.
Posted by Stefan Sharkansky at October 02, 2002 09:02 AMUm, were you joking about Eva Braun, or is this gumby really her nephew?
Posted by: j on October 2, 2002 03:35 PMAnyone who believes Hiroshima & Nagasaki were not "direct combat situations" must be too young to remember what war used to be! The only "wars" young people see now, are more like overgrown video games where the only ones killed are (mostly) enemy soldiers.
Posted by: TPittman on October 3, 2002 06:53 PM