Appeasement won’t work

Dear editor:
Those who believe that Saddam Hussein can be negotiated with do not understand the criminal mind. Saddam understands only one logic–the law of the bullet. He attained, retained, and sustains his power by killing.
It was not U.N. sanctions that have killed so many of “Saddam’s children.” Saddam killed his own children while he was spending millions on his palaces; money which should have been used to feed and give medical care to them.
Saddam’s people put on such a display of loyalty because doing otherwise would not be good for their health. His Arab neighbours do not express opposition because they know he is totally ruthless and would target them with the most minute provocation.
They are playing it safe. They understand the criminal mind, and they are just a little too close to the fire.
Can appeasement achieve peace? Only a fool can yet believe that. Can we achieve lasting world peace if we eliminate Saddam and his entire military infrastructure? No, but as we weed our gardens, weeds are again sprouting from the end we just came from. It is a never ceasing toil.
It is international criminals and terrorists of Saddam’s ilk that can and will keep the rest of the world hostage while they fiddle with the power they cannot use responsibly. Saddam is the ultimate bully and coward. Anyone with a thread of logic knows that you do not turn your back on such, and never display weakness.
Saddam is counting on the pacifist, bleeding heart fools to sway public opinion in the free countries so that he can continue doing what he as been lying about for the past seven years.
And some are still stupid enough to believe he has some virtue and can be negotiated with.
U.S. President Bill Clinton may not leave the White House with much of a legacy but if he eradicates Saddam and his entire military infrastructure (which he must), he will at least have done one thing right.
Sincerely,
Arnold Kaemingh
Fort Frances, Ont.