Well, I am a military brat;

I have friends in combat, many of whom may never be attending high school

reunions with me (and we just got out of high school a year ago). I have

seen my father go off to war. I am constantly afraid that I am going to

get a call in the middle of the night from a sobbing friend saying that

she has lost either a sibling or a parent, whom I no doubt knew.

And you know what? I oppose

the war vehemently. I am more patriotic than most of these post-9/11 wannabe

patriots or militaristically indoctrinated soldiers (but ironically, I

have the utmost respect and admiration for military personnel; they are

the true American heroes).

My kind and I oppose the war

not just because of our doltish president but because we value the lives

of those we hold dear.

Secondly, people claiming mass

brutality by Saddam's sons in the form of feeding defectors to lions

is highly untrue. Sure, a few people may have been fed to them, but the

exaggerated numbers put out there don't match up with the lions themselves.

When American forces entered

the menageries and zoos where the sons' lions were kept, they found

not animals used to human consumption but animals not used to being fed

at all. The lions were emaciated and grossly ill. Pictures of them may

have been some of the disturbing things to come out of the country. Many

died before American forces could help them and now veterinary teams from

around the world are scrambling to help these pathetically desperate animals.

Obviously, feeding people to lions was not all that common.

It's amazing how in a

war as modern as this one so many facts can be lost or changed. Maybe

it's time for another regime change in November 2004. America owes

it to herself.

Dixie Eska-Thedra

Fayetteville, Ga.