Also serving the communities of De Luz, Rainbow, Camp Pendleton, Pala and Pauma

A premise for criminal behavior

David Meyers stated in his recent letter (the Village News, 1/4/06) that, categorically, Saddam had WMDs because George Bush said so. And indeed he did, over and over. Remember just before the Bush War, when Bush stated that Saddam had WMDs, had used them against his own people and would use them again?

In his radio address of February 8, 2003, one month before the war, Bush said, “…we have sources that tell us that Saddam Hussein recently authorized Iraqi field commanders to use chemical weapons – the very weapons the dictator tells us he does not have.” It is deeply troubling that Bush resolved to send ground troops into battle knowing Hussein had these weapons and would use them against American troops. Bush’s decision was immorally and inhumanely wrong based on military axioms.

Consider this statement by Jim Perrington: “As a former Chemical Corps Officer and a graduate of NSM School, C&GS College and War College, and from studying military history, I learned that it is important for the success of any military operation you must never commit troops in combat when the enemy possesses a weapon that can cause mass casualties, without first neutralizing that weapon.”

Sure, gas masks can help if you have enough warning and are not downwind from the attack. However, the worst chemicals penetrate the skin as well as clothing unless you are wearing impregnated clothing, including head covering and gloves. You cannot go into combat like that in 120-degree weather. Furthermore, the troops did not have all that protection when the war started and they still don’t.

Perhaps David Meyers is right: Bush knew Saddam had WMDs and made the decision to send our unprotected troops in anyway for mass extermination. Or perhaps David Meyers is wrong and Bush was lying. There is something very perverse here.

Joe Howard Crews

 

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