Dear Editor,

Listening to the President speak on Sunday, I was dismayed by how quickly we were slipping towards an epic historical mistake. All ideological and moral arguments aside, attacking Iraq is simply not in the national interests of the United States.

Attacking Iraq will only serve to increase the real threat of international terrorism. Recent polls in the Arab world have shown a sharp increase in anti-American sentiment with 90 percent plus of these populations holding a negative view of America and the proposed war in Iraq. International intelligence sources have also remarked upon the elevated levels of terrorist recruitment as terrorist groups capitalize on the hatred produced by Washington’s unfaltering drive for war.

Equally dismaying was a State Department report that contradicted the administration’s argument that invading Iraq will foster greater democracy in the Middle East. The report stated that even if democracies could undercut thousands of years of undemocratic traditions in the Arab world that Middle Eastern democracies will reflect overwhelming anti-American sentiment and will be increasingly hostile towards the United States.

Another major concern undermining U.S. interests is the intense diplomatic damage and deterioration of international unity that will result from conducting a war without U.N. support. A unilateral war will undermine relationships with our traditional allies and will strain our crucial relationships with Muslim countries. The weakening of international authority and the degradation of our relations with the international community will impair our ability to effectively fight terrorism.

We need to realize as a nation that this war will only bring us more terrorism, the loss of more innocent lives, and more insecurity for the American people.

Thank You.

Ryan Conrad

Glenwood Springs