In Candice Jackson’s column on April 21, “Viewers do not live perils of war” (U-Wire), she states, “… and that the capture of a dictator, no matter how cruel, is not worth the sacrifice of so many innocents.”

It’s not OK for us to injure or kill anyone in removing this dictator, but it is perfectly OK for him to torture and murder millions of his own people? As reported in the news several days ago, American troops discovered one of Saddam’s torture centers. There were underground holding cells, and before the guards left, they opened pipes to flood the cells, leaving people to drown. This is not unusual for Saddam’s regime. Torture and horrible death are the ways used to silence anyone who disagrees with the government.

I fail to understand how this is morally acceptable, but the death of a few people to eliminate this is wrong.

Also, while there may be a few civilian homes damaged or destroyed by U.S. bombs, the “smart bombs” used have done a superb job of hitting their targets with a minimum amount of damage to surrounding structures. Bombs that penetrate into a bunker before exploding do incredible damage within the target, but very little outside. Given that the United States is fighting a government that has their bunkers several hundred feet below hospitals, the bombs have been very successful at doing their job.

Russell Graves

Junior

Computer Engineering