This is in response to the letter regarding stem cell research and the war in Iraq that was in the Sept. 15 Daily. First of all, the idea that President Bush has done anything to prevent stem cell research is simply false.

As First Lady Laura Bush pointed out at the Republican National Convention, Bush is the first president to authorize federal funding of stem cell research and has not prohibited any such privately funded research from taking place.

The only “ban” in place is the federal funding of new lines of stem cells which were not in existence when the president made his decision in August 2001.

After hearing Ron Reagan’s speech at the Democratic National Convention, the idea that stem cell research could open many new scientific doors and find the cures for several different afflictions, if true (I’m no biologist), should be all that a corporation in that field needs to convince investors to fund the research privately.

If anyone thinks protecting life should be this administration’s top priority, then removing Saddam Hussein from power and removing the U.N. sanctions in Iraq was certainly a step in the right direction. Many people make the claim that Iraq had nothing to do with the attacks of Sept. 11. This is not true.

One of the biggest reasons cited by terrorist groups justifying the attacks that killed 3,000 people is the presence of U.S. troops in the Middle East, and one of the biggest reasons for the presence of U.S. troops in the Middle East has been Saddam Hussein.

Aaron Haywood

Senior

History