A friend forwarded me this letter to the editor from the Syracuse New Times:

Beating the Bushes

Has anyone considered that the impending pre-emptive war on Iraq sets a dangerous historical precedent, given that our motive for attack is based on the notion that we "think" Saddam Hussein will use his weapons of mass destruction against us? He hasn't in the past 12 years, so why would he use them now - unless he was provoked? Think China will decide to invade us because we have weapons of mass destruction and the "think" we might us them? Geven that we have Iraq surrounded with 300,000 troops and the world's most high-tech weapons, why is the president in such a hurry to invade? What's the rush?

Bush Sr., Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld are all heavily invested the defense contractors, pharmaceuticals and big oil, whose stock prices will soar after the forthcoming obliteration and rebuilding of Iraq. Could that be the real reason Bush is pushing to eliminate the tax on stock dividends ASAP?

Former President Bush and Washington heavyweights frank Carlucci and James Baker are all major players in the Carlisle Group, a private investment firm that specializes in defense contracts. One company they are heavily invested in is Bioport, which manufactures the anthrax vaccine, their only product. In fact, after last year's anthrax scares the government promptly purchased $100 million worth of the vaccine from Bioport. Pretty smart investing eh? If you really wnat to know what dictates foreign policy, follow the money and see where it leads.

If you dig into the Bush family and their business connections, you'll find nothing but corruption and deceit. Bush Sr. was a partner in the treasonous Iran Contra affair and was accused of smuggling illegal drugs through CIA, of which he was a former director. Also, Enron was a huge campaign supporter of Dubya; he prevented the release of Reagan's personal records when they were to become public domain; and was defiant in preventing a private investigation into the adminstration's prior knowledge of events leading up to Sept. 11. What's he got to hide?

Remember the suspect circumstances surrounding Florida and the 2000 presidential election, which was decided where another Bush is the most powerful man in that state? Everyone knows the Bush family comes from oil; so it's a coincidence that they're building an oil pipline through Afghanistan after blowing it to smithereens and now they're planning to attack oil-rich Iraq for the second time?

Rush Limbaugh refers to peace demonstrators as "maggot-infested, pot-smoking tyes," some Christian ministers are preaching hate toward Muslims and nobody in this country has the authority or the guts to stand up to a presidential declaration of war. It has become un-American to criticize policy and the oil-soaked press downplays the resounding worldwide cry for peace. The United States is not trusted abroad because we have a reputation for war-mongering in the name of corporate greed. The archaic notion that we are the peacekeepers of the world is nonsense. We are on the brink of world cataclysm, all because power-mad bureaucrats are eager to sacrifice human life to fatten their off-shore bank accounts. Ever wonder why a politician will spend millions for a job that pays a couple measly hundred thousand?

Jim Vurraro, Eastwood