Good morning, Richard,

    Thanks for all the information on the mess in Iraq - even without the information I know that things are terrible and our prayers are with the people. But Richard - give me some alternatives. Now, don't go ballistic on me - hear me out.

    You said or one of the authors in the past couple of weeks or so said, that we do nothing to China, etc. - and that's true and to  be perfectly frank with you if I was to get into a real fear mode - it would be about China. I think China is sitting like a very quiet hibernating bear and watching the World and waiting. I have said for a long time that one day we will wish we had paid attention to what they were doing. That doesn't mean we go in and invade them - don't get me wrong. I don't know what the answer is - there probably isn't one short of the second coming. Now, having said this so you understand where I am coming from - I am not for war of any kind but here is the problem that I would like some help with. Do we let Saddam build up warheads loaded with anthrax, etc., etc. and get the capability of lobbing them into the heartland of the U.S. and do nothing about it? Do you have statistics that tell us that isn't going to happen? And, do we allow him to lob them into our country or anyone else's country and THEN take action or are you for totally allowing whoever is stronger to take over the world?

    I have a real problem with Saddam - I think he is a mad man and I believe he is the one hurting his country. I was listening to a news program on PBS and one of his sons-in-law that had defected told horror stories about Saddam has killed relatives - he advocates that it is all right for him to kill his relatives but it isn't okay for anyone else to do it. If you have an answer for me with this problem, I can agree to anything else that is proposed [I think :-) ] but these are real concerns I have. Do you have any information that would lead you to believe that Saddam has been maligned? In the name of God, I wish that were so but there is so much evidence that I have heard that just totally denies that. When Saddam set the oil wells afire it changed the atmosphere of the world to the point that it changed how gardens mature in our country. That was the act of a mad man. Yes, Richard, I believe we are over there because of the oil in the area. I think one would have to be blind not to understand that.

    Now, answer me another question. Do you not think that whoever controls oil controls the world? Think about it. If an aggressor comes at us and we don't have fuel to get planes and ships into the air - what happens to our country or the countries of our ally's? The question is, I think, is it the stronger nation rules the world and destroys life in any country it wants to or do we try to stop it and to make peace? Do you not believe that Saddam kept the UN investigating team out of his country or made it impossible for them to gather the information they needed to keep the rest of the world secure? Was not Saddam the aggressor in the previous invasion we launched? Richard, I am asking you for information - I am not trying to argue. I truly want to know if you have information that leads you to believe that we have nothing to fear from Saddam. Not just the United States but the World, as we know it. I am not saying going to war with them is the answer - I am truly asking you for the solution as you see it because war is the last thing I want. We can't just turn a totally blind eye as we did with Hitler when he came to power. In talking with friends that lived through the situation in Germany, I am told and the history books will back this up, that Hitler really pulled Germany out of a mess and people really liked him. Then something snapped and things began to go terribly wrong. We let him invade many countries and do the terrible things he did to the people in those countries.

    What do you see as the scenario that we should have done there? I am trying to look at the big picture here and trying to come up with a solution that doesn't involve war. Do we sit and wait for something to happen and then when it does sit with our hands folded and accept whatever happens? Yes, that is a resigned attitude - maybe it is the "let God take care of it in his way" attitude - peaceful resignation. Do you see that as the way we should go and how do you see that working out in the long run? These are the hard questions I would like answers to because I honestly don't know what else we can do that will work for the good of everyone. If Saddam truly cares about his people - wouldn't he say, "Okay guys, come in, look around, leave an inspection task force to keep an eye on things because we truly want peace and then please, get my people the medicine, the doctors, the food and supplies that my people need and do it with all haste because my people are suffering and they need help." I am NOT saying that anyone should go in and provide the leadership for the country. I am simply posing a scenario and asking - why it can't or isn't happening this way? When we went into Japan and for many years we occupied the country, was that wrong? Then I ask the question - was Pearl Harbor wrong and should we have sat quietly until Japan took over our country?

    Again, Richard, I am NOT being aggressive here - I really want to hear a peaceful conclusion to this whole situation and if you've got it, I want to hear it. I am NOT an advocate for war and never have been - I don't understand all of the wars that were waged in the Bible - all of the land that was taken, if we are to believe what is written - by God's command. I don't think there is any answer to these scenarios but if there is - or if you have some answers for me, I really would like to hear them because I am ignorant and open to information that would lead to a different outcome.

    These questions are very important to me Richard and any help you can give me or any insight into what solution you see would be most helpful. I may not agree with you when you tell me but at least we will have some idea of what problems we each have - and probably many people in the world have these same concerns and we are not having a dialog about them. We start - - one to one - - in finding solutions - peaceful solutions.

Adam