March 20th I wrote a letter to the editor part of which stated, "History looks back on the Vietnam war as a horrific error in judgment. I fear that future history reports of this war will pale in comparison. I anticipate this to be a long, drawn-out war, with questionable results even if we "win." Before that letter was printed, our armed forces seemed to be winning, so I wasn't surprised that the letter was never printed. However, I now feel, more than ever, that future history reports of our participation in this conflict will pale in comparison to the Vietnam War.
To begin with, President Bush's arrogance alienated most of the foreign countries long before Sept. 11. His continued arrogance has turned most of the European countries, as well as most others, against the United States. They see our participation in Iraq as a move to gain control of more oil. Evidence has indicated that our administration had detailed maps of Iraq and their oil resources long before Sept. 11.
My only concern now is how we can get out of this mess without further foreign fiascoes and a continuation of loss of human life, of British and American forces as well as Iraqis and others. I'm also concerned about the horrendous national debt being accumulated, resulting in neglecting human needs in our own country.
Iris Swenson
Fargo
