[I just got a two page letter from Rep. Mike Rogers’ office. He was responding for my call to end the war in Iraq. In his letter he said we must stay the course. All the good reasons really. Honor the sacrifice already made. Make the world safe from terror. Just bullshit, on top of bullshit. And the clincher, that made me spend an hour of my life responding — he cited to me the likely-forged letter from al-Zawahiri to al-Zarqawi as his only evidence of our need to continue the war in Iraq. And then, I ranted.]
Dear Rep. Rogers,
In response to my concerns about the ongoing war in Iraq, you wrote me a letter dated November 22, 2005.
Your letter states basically your desire to support a policy of staying the course in Iraq. Candidly, I cannot support a candidate with this outlook. This war is illegal and immoral, and is resulting in Americans being less safe in the world.
Specifically, your letter cites one piece of evidence for your belief that a continuation of the war is necessary: The al-Zawahiri to al Zarqawi letter.
That you would base much of your pro-war argument on this letter very much illustrates the problem this country will have in supporting Republican candidates in the fall of this year. As I am sure you are aware, the letter is most probably a forgery. If you are unaware of the questions surrounding the validity of this letter, then I can only assume that your ignorance on this point is willful. I’m providing you with a link to an article that will assist your understanding of this “crucial” piece of evidence that you cited to me:
http://www.townhall.com/news/ext_wire.html?rowid=7337
The letter’s validity has also been questioned on mainstream sites such as CNN and the UPI:
http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/10/19/take.letter/
http://www.upi.com/SecurityTerrorism/view.php?StoryID=20051019-125103-6408r
That you can cite this information to your constituents without noting the questions that have been raised about the letter’s validity, suggests that you have learned nothing from your ill-advised vote to support a war based on faulty intelligence.
I would suggest that you either stop using this questionable evidence without acknowledging the probability (or possibility, if you will) that it is a blatant forgery. If you insist on relying on this questionable information to support the war, I would suggest that you call for a serious investigation into the veracity of this document. You might call for the investigation to be open to the public, as well, if you would like any citizen to give any faith to the ultimate conclusions about the document’s validity. (And no, writing me back and telling me that U.S. intelligence agencies have vouched for the letter’s veracity is not impressive, because, as you will recall, you have been defending your vote to go to war with Iraq based on mistakes made by the U.S. intelligence community).
The prosecution of this war stinks ab initio. I think you must be aware of that. And continuing in an effort to maintain support for the war based on questionable evidence stinks more. As President Bush, our most treasured orator, has said, “Fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can’t get fooled again.”
Please consider voting to end the war before your re-election campaign. You will be saving American lives. Another Michigan soldier was blown up yesterday for no reason other than to support a continuing falsehood.
And again, I would urge you to read, “Dying to Win” by Robert Pape. I’ll even provide a link:
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?userid=xD6YIqNC2T&isbn=1400063175&am
p;itm=1
If you can’t read it yourself, have a staffer read it. And if you are open to real evidence, unlike the likely-forged letter you cited to me, you will see that the only purpose served by keeping U.S. forces in Iraq is to fuel a continuation of suicide bombings that will make more widows and more orphans here at home. Whether we get out tomorrow, or we get out in ten years, Iraq will certainly continue the struggle to find an equilibrium that we destroyed with our unjustified invasion. The only difference will be the number of casualties we take, and the amount of money we spend, before Congress and the President wake up to this reality.
Sincerely seeking an end to this ridiculous war,
Terry J. Olson
