To the editor:
Jim McCormick, in his rant against American politics in "Conservatism debate frustrates" (Monday, Opinion), pointing out its faults, overlooked one. I understand that he cannot "supply evidence on the fly," but since he took the time to write, he should have taken a few minutes to back up his assertion that the Iraqis "hate (Americans) by default."
I would ask that McCormick not descend into rage, as he says he does, but listen with an open mind. The Iraq war was not born out of the blue, although the 9/11 attacks did set up the stage for it. Iraqis, under dictator Saddam Hussein, felt the harsh blows of U.S.-led economic sanctions for more than a decade.
The United Nations Children’s Fund reported that half a million children died as a result. The charge was never denied by the government, and the official policy was summed up by Madeline Albright, then secretary of state, during an interview on CBS’s 60 Minutes. "We think the price is worth it," she said. Tell that to the parents of the Iraqi children, stuck between a brutal dictator who used chemical weapons on them and the sanctions that nearly wiped out an entire generation, only to turn around and find themselves behind bars being humiliated at the Abu Ghraib prison.
Let’s put things into context. It is an insult to the intelligence to say an entire nation hates us just because we are Americans. Sounds very much like the talk of conservatives to me.
Saleema Gul
Communication junior
