Letters to the Editor

War in Iraq based on faulty information

This letter is in response to the guest columnist article published April 7 ["Activism involves more than 'dance-offs'"] by Burch Glover. While it may be agreed that activism, indeed, involves more than "dance-offs," nothing was said regarding their grievances with the War in Iraq in the Sidelines article featuring SDS on March 31 ["Fighting for a True Democracy"]. It is also plainly evident that the student writing the above mentioned article on April 7 has been severely misinformed about the war, its history, and its beginnings. Maybe he should do his duty as a collegiate scholar and do a little research on these topics. I will make a recommendation to him to view Frontline's documentary entitled "Bush's War," which I believe is a magnificent, beautifully put together piece of work outlining the war our nation is now consumed with. He says in the article that he "personally feels that the war is justified and important." But, does he know that the war was founded on, at best, faulty intelligence and trumped- up charges? Does he know that the Bush Administration was told by the CIA, as well as other intelligence, that, in fact, there never was a connection between the Taliban and Al- Qaeda and Saddam Hussein, in addition to the now widely known fact that there were no weapons of mass destruction lurking in Iraq? Does he know that when the Bush Administration was told about these facts it responded by telling the intelligence agencies to "look a little harder" into the situation, implying to them to fabricate, if necessary, the intelligence so that they could go to war. Which, as we know now, is exactly what they did after being pressured into doing so by the likes of Scooter Libby and Dick Cheney, the ringleader of it all. So what is our justifiable reason for being there for over five years - to impose democracy on their people with our political and military machine? To pose a more philosophical question: is it possible to impose democracy with military force? In the midst of attempting to do this, we now know that we didn't start out with enough military in Iraq to provide enough of a force to get the job done correctly and efficiently. And that, my friends, is the reason we'll be there until at least 2012, as recently predicted. We were, in fact, way overconfident in our abilities, much like the SDS students Burch Glover described as a bunch of "C- average students" forming "some sort of activism group." He said that, "They have contributed next to nothing to society." To pose another philosophical question: since when was life, knowledge and common sense strictly adhered to a grade point average? He remarks later that our "military around the world" is "fighting for your right to be as ignorant as you choose." I find this statement highly ironic for obvious reasons. In conclusion, I would just like to say that I much prefer antiwar "dance-offs" to an unjustified war.

Meghan Harrell, freshman

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Livestock bad for the environment

In response to your article "Earthlings against animal cruelty" [4/10/08], it was wonderful to read that Students for Environmental Action is taking an active role in reducing MTSU's ecological footprint by targeting one of the largest contributors to global warming: the meat industry. Across the board, animal agriculture wastes the limited resources we have by funneling them through animals raised for meat and other animal products. For example, we currently feed more than 70 percent of the grains raised in this country to animals raised for food, rather than eating the grains directly. Similarly, nearly half of the water and 80 percent of agricultural land consumed in this country is used for livestock, when it could be used to grow food directly for human consumption. This wasteful use of our resources has a devastating effect on our local environments as well. Currently, farmed animals produce about 130 times as much excrement as the entire U.S. population, much of which finds its way into our local waterways. Thankfully, it's easier than ever to find healthier, eco-friendly, and humane dining options (especially at MTSU). With dishes such as vegan BBQ "riblets" and vegetarian "chicken" sandwiches widely available, there's never been a better time to pick up environmentally-conscious fare on the go. For more information on the connection between what we eat and our impact on the planet, visit peta2.com to request free stickers and a DVD.

Ryan Hulig, Norfolk VA