Iraq war in focus
More worried? Less worried?

Readers respond to the question: How have war developments affected your sense of safety?

I feel much safer today as Iraq falls and their ability to launch "WMD" or give them to others is at an end! As time goes on, we will find more "WMD." God Bless President Bush & our troops.

It is my feelings of profound sorrow at the destruction to Iraq and the devastation to the lives of the Iraqi people that the U.S. has imposed. This feeling is deepened because the original rational for this war, namely that Iraq possessed large stores of biological, chemical and nuclear weaponry, persuaded both the Congress and the majority of U.S. citizens to support the war. In fact, these charges are false, were fabricated by the British intelligence, and have not so far been supported after three plus weeks of intensive search. I am even more troubled by what the U.S. is becoming, by the claims of the need for extension of the Patriot Act and all that involves for violation of basic Constitutional protections and rights, the decline in the economy with millions unemployed and the arrogant use of power by those elected and/or appointed to public office.

My sense of safety... I am an airline pilot. Marwan Al-Shehhi (he flew the second airplane into the World Trade Center) was on my flight the week before 9/11. When he and his friends came aboard, they completely "creeped me out." At the time, I could not tell you why. Until then, we had a false sense of security. As a nation we had neglected to notice just how vulnerable we were to acts of terrorism and governments that support terrorists. Afghanistan, a small operation in Yemen, and now Iraq have demonstrated that we as a nation will not tolerate these threats and just wait for them to hit us again. The Fedayeen volunteers from other countries in Iraq are learning some things about confronting the U.S. military. My sense of security has been greatly enhanced knowing that our government is actually doing something about this threat. We are sending a powerful message to those who are making these threats. In the future, they may think twice.

I don't feel any safer. Why should I? There's no link between Al Qaeda and Iraq. Nor of (Saddam) Hussein-sponsored terrorism directed at the U.S. All that existed was the probability and possibility that Hussein's weapons of mass destruction might, at some time in the indefinite future, be a threat to the U.S. People talk about supporting our troops. In the middle of a war and a budget deficit, the Senate and Congress plan to cut veterans’ health benefits. The war-related health problems of those who fought the last Gulf War aren't being taken care of. That makes me feel unsafe.

I believe the U.S. is safer today as a result of toppling Saddam Hussein. Hosts of terrorists and sponsors of terrorism will surely take note of our conviction to world peace. Terrorists and mad people still exist here and around the world; however, I believe the days of organized terrorist attacks are coming to a close. Also take note that Korea has been very quiet during the last three weeks. It remains to be seen if Syria will continue to harbor the criminals from Iraq. I suspect those criminals will be unwelcome.

It hasn't affected me at all. I'm not in the military, and I'm not an Iraqi suffering while caught between a dictator previously supported by the U.S. and the armies who have been sent to remove him. I don't have anything to worry about, really. The threat of terrorism has been expanded to include library books, but so far no one is questioning my choices. My family was treated with suspicion when we dropped our eldest son at the airport the week the war started, and we paid for this strange treatment with a security tax on his ticket. However pointless that experience was, we're still grateful to have plenty of water and a clean hospital a few miles from our home. It's never been looted. So far, no one on my street has been killed by a solider who excused himself by saying "The chick was in the way." If our president knew diplomacy from his backside, maybe the looting and killing in Iraq could have been avoided. But I just vote. My opinion means nothing.

The saying "I love my country but fear my government" has never been more real. The Bush administration is pushing legislation that would further expand the power to monitor and even revoke citizenship of U.S. citizens. Imagine the very real possibilities. In the future, would a whistle blower at a company like Enron find his citizenship taken away & then find himself jailed without formal charges? (Surely Kenny Lay wouldn't ask his powerful friends in the White House to do something like that, or would he?) The PI front page article on 4/11 "GOP calls for wider power to track citizens" was chilling. I am glad to read that a full range --conservative to liberal--are opposed. Wake up America! The neo-conservatives in the White House are not your father's conservative! Let us use common sense. Collecting data on law abiding Americans is a situation ripe for misuse. Knowing what a person checks out at the library is a blow to our civil liberties & freedom. It will not keep that same person from using a box cutter to take over a plane. The thought that some nerd in a homeland security office is going to use my library records and my QFC (Dis)Advantage Card to determine if my phone should be tapped is crazy but a real possibility. And if the authorities can seize your computer — even without a search warrant — couldn't they also put incriminating evidence on that computer. Even if no harm is meant, people with a budget and the power probably will cook up stupid accusations because it will be their job and they might be over zealous.