I am a little disturbed by the Sept. 21 letter by Mr. Gott stating that those who don’t support the war in Iraq necessarily do not support our troops and “should move to France.”

I appreciate the commitment that Mr. Gott has made to defend his country, and I hope that some good might come out of his presence in Iraq. However, Mr. Gott’s line of reasoning brings up the question: When is it permissible to question our government’s foreign policies?

Can one not love his or her country and yet remain critical of certain policies or institutions that they believe could be made better? I think my country is great; yet, like many, I am not particularly proud of its early history of slavery against black and genocidal warfare against the American Indians.

Does this mean that I should move to a different country? Should Martin Luther King have moved to a different country rather than try to improve this country and seek equality for all races? Let’s take a hypothetical example. Suppose the leaders of a country took advantage of the people’s fears of domestic terrorist attacks and deceived people into believing another country (let’s call it Biraq) poses an imminent threat with lies (or perhaps hyped-up untruths, if you prefer) concerning the existence of terrible weapons of mass destruction.

Let’s say also, that there are certain factions of this leadership that have been gunning for Biraq for years, and furthermore, that many of the most forceful backers of an invasion of Biraq (including some directly involved in policy decisions) stand to make a great deal of money directly or indirectly through government contracts and oil interests.

Under this hypothetical scenario, would it be prudent for a citizen to question the policies of this country’s leaders? In my opinion, it is not only prudent but it is the duty of citizens to question and criticize these sorts of policies. How can a country improve if criticism and dissent are not allowed?

I can understand if members of our armed forces are frustrated by the dissent in this country over whether our occupation of Iraq was and is a good decision.

However, we should remember that those of us who oppose this war are the ones that want to bring you home the most, without harm, as soon as possible.

John Stireman

Postdoctoral Research Associate

Ecology, Evolution and Organismal Biology