Al Qaeda training camps have

not been found anywhere in Iraq, and if the captain would read the papers

now and then he would realize that the U.S. government admits to that

fact.

We have deposed a tyrant, and

foisted on ourselves the massive responsibility to rehabilitate an entire

country. We're getting little help because we chose to operate outside

of the UN and international community, and much of the rest of the world

is now thumbing their nose at us.

Saddam did in fact support

terrorism against Israel, undoubtedly paying the families of suicide bombers.

Perhaps Israel should have invaded Iraq.

Mr. Poffenberger makes much

of STRATFOR. Well, I agree with their assessment that al Qaeda has been

hurt (but not by our military operations in Iraq), that our military is

reducing the insurrection in Iraq, and that the Islamic world is afraid

of us.

However, if Mr. Poffenberger

bothers to read a little recent history, none of these were presented

The President spoke of imminent

and growing danger which never existed, and were not part of the ill-informed

pre-war intelligence assessment.

Is it Mr. Poffenberger's

assertion that we now hand the President a blank check? That the President

is no longer accountable, or that he can tell us anything he likes as

long as he has our best interests at heart? Where is Thomas Paine when

you need him?

The STRATFOR paper doesn't

mention the effect of this war on our long-term relations with our main

allies, nor the perceptions we have created around the world that we think

we can do whatever we want because of our power. It doesn't mention

the cost, either in lives or treasure.

If the end result is the defeat

of al Qaeda, then no cost is too high. There were no al Qaeda in Iraq

(besides Abu Musab al Zarquawi, and he has never been linked to the Iraqi

government) until we invaded, which makes you wonder what effect this

operation has had on al Qaeda at all.

On the other hand, how much

do we pay to rid ourselves of petty tyrants while operating outside of

the world's approbation. Your blood-sucking beltway bandit head sheds

and double-dipping civil servants don't normally address that aspect.

And as for the young captain:

I was over in Europe flying fighters to protect his diapered rear end

long before he gained rank, title, or nonsensical insight. My father saw

hundreds die on Omaha Beach. I have had more than 30 friends and classmates

killed in aircraft training accidents over my career, and I know the cost

of defending freedom.

Furthermore, the President

promises to protect and defend the Constitution, and he's been doing

a damn lousy job of it. For starters, check out the part about habeas

corpus being suspended only in time of National Emergency.

The next time the young officer

decides to flirt with the Hatch Act, he should take the Republican sticker

off his forehead, and get his facts straight.

Resume: 1978 Graduate USAF

Academy, BS Civil Engineering. A-10 pilot, 1980-84, 510TFS; 1987-98, 118FS

(CTANG). MBA Florida Tech, 1987. LTC (Ret) CTANG. And I've done a

lot of reading, sort of on my own (you know, like Lincoln). Happy now?

Timothy Parker

Peachtree City, Ga.