War followers argue issues; reader attacks DN policy
voicing opinion
anonymously
student right
A recent edition of the Daily
Nebraskan contained an article that,
when I read it, aggravated, annoyed
and angered me to no end. I regarded
the opinions expressed in this article
as inappropriate, incorrect, racist and
totally off base. I rarely feel moved to
respond to anything printed in the
Daily Nebraskan, but this was the
exception. In fact, I even went so far
as to hike across campus to visit with
the editorial staff. However, that visit
proved as disturbing as the article
itself— if not more so.
The editor of our college tabloid
agreed that my opinions about the
article were worthy of print and said
he’d like to print what I had to say.
However, he could not, or would not,
protect my anonymity even though I
felt that recriminations could result if
my name was published. Apparently,
the editor of the Daily Nebraskan
feels that “accountability” is more
important than accuracy and the right
of students on this campus to express
their opinions without fear of aca
demic or social harassment.
Doesn’t seem right to me_
Sue Kelly
senior
English
Editor’s note: The Daily Nebras
kan would not, could not, publish
anonymous letters. It says so on
page 4. In rare circumstances, the
Daily Nebraskan uses anonymous
sources for news articles, but edito
rial pieces always are signed. The
Daily Nebraskan believes accuracy
and accountability go hand in hand
on the opinion pages. Without ac
countably, there is no desire for
accuracy.
War necessary
to stop inhumanity
to Kuwaitis
When referring to people who
supported our country’s war efforts in
the Middle East, Martha Barrett
-LETTERS tth°e EDITOR
Metroka made the mistake of label
ing us as “pro-warindividuals” (DN,
March 1). We are not people who like
war, nor do we advocate war like the
term “pro-war” suggests. We are people
who have the ability to see farther
into the future than the nose on our
face and realize that war is sometimes
necessary to stop escalated atrocities
of aggression, destruction and mur
der of innocent people in the future.
One of the main reasons for the war
was to stop the spread of disease that
causes such atrocities and, in this
case, the name of that disease was
Saddam Hussein. It is easier to chop
down a diseased seedling now than it
is to wait until it has developed into a
full-grown tree.
Martha, you say that you “grieve
the human carnage, destruction of
property and rape of the environment”
and that you “cannot visualize this
atrocity as a moral action.” Not once
in your letter did you contribute even
a small portion of the blame onto
Saddam Hussein’s shoulders. To you,
apparently, the United States is at
fault. Here we are dealing with your
vision problem again. It wasn’t the
United States that marched into Kuwait
and purposely tortured and murdered
many of the people, destroyed Ku
wait City as well as much of the
country, and raped the environment
with the dumping of oil and torching
of oil wells. These atrocities were the
acts of Saddam Hussein, not us. If the
“government information telling us
how bad the enemy was” is not good
enough for you, then maybe you should
have opened your eyes and paid more
attention to the reports that came di
rectly from the people of Kuwait and
others who have seen this murder and
destruction up close for themselves.
The United States’ actions were justi
fied and moral.
Martha, hundreds, if not thousands,
of the people of Kuwait were tor
tured. Babies were tossed out of their
incubators onto the floor to die so the
incubators could be taken back to
Baghdad. Young men had cigarettes
smashed out on their chests, their
eyes plucked out, parts of their bodies
burned with acid and the bottoms of
their feet slashed. Women didn’t get
treated much differently than the men
except that some were raped and some
had their breasts cut off. These are
just a few of the many reports that
have come directly from Kuwait, not
just information from our govern
ment. You say that “we call ourselves
civilized, but in my view we behaved
like high-tech barbarians.” You have
a lot of gall to make such a statement
in light of the facts that you either
didn’t see or just chose to ignore.
And yes, Martha, as you said, people
who oppose the war are criticized but
not “for exercising their freedom.”
They are criticized for their blind
ness, ignorance of the facts, and for
always blaming the United States first
for everything bad that happens in the
world. This is my opinion and you
have every right to criticize me for it.
You see, it’s not a matter of criticiz
ing someone for exercising his or her
freedoms, it’s a matter of being able
to openly and freely criticize some
one else’s opinions that may differ
from our own. Although you may or
may not agree with me when I say
that these freedoms are among many
things that make this country great, I
still would like to compliment you for
taking a stand and speaking up for
what you believe in; too few people
do. I just can’t help it if your opinions
of the war effort and the way you are
so quick to accuse the United States
are way off track, but hey, that’s my
opinion.
Martha, you are right about one
thing when you say that, “Man’s in
humanity to man is not right or good,
and never will be.” But remember
that this war was not a case of being
inhumane to our fellow man, it was
the means necessary for slopping,
“Man’s inhumanity to man.”
William Peterson
junior
business management/economics
I n__II
United States
depends on wars;
supporters naive
I have never felt such shame and
anger for America and its leadership
as I have felt in the last 30 some days.
How sad that patriotism abounds so
Fiercely when we assume a role simi
lar to hired assassins rather than being
the first nation to combat the AIDS
virus or the first to suppress poverty
or drugs or even for assuming the
leading role in education. Instead, the
flags unfurl in support of a war initi
ated by a president who once broke a
tie in the Senate voting ‘ for’ the use of
nerve gas. The same president who
once stated that a nuclear war could
be won.
For those of you who say “war for
peace,” despite the obvious contra
diction in terms, stop and think about
all those years of peace that the United
States supposedly has had. The United
States has been at war in some form or
another for over 50 years with an
average of 10 years peacetime be
tween wars. Our true victory is that
the majority of these wars have been
abroad, leaving our land, although
not our lives, untouched. Even in our
rare moments of peace, the covert
actions of the CIA have been at work.
Either CIA involvement or U.S. Fi
nancial backing has supported con
flicts in Nicaragua, Chile, El Salva
dor, Angola, Libya, Chad, Kampu
chea, Afghanistan, Guatemala, Bra
zil, Congo, Iran, Iraq, Peru, Bolivia,
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Ecuador, Uraguay, Cuba, Vietnam,
Cambodia and the Dominican Re
public and these are only in the last
20-plus years.
The U.S. military has shot down a
civilian Iranian airliner, killing more
than 200 civilians, bombed Libya to
destroy the ‘maniacal’ Khadafi, battled
its way into Grenada, maimed and
killed hundreds in Panama in our
pursuitof the ‘evil’ Noriega. Our Cl A
has mined the harbors of Nicaragua.
Yes, our unblemished past filled with
2,000 invasions of other countries is
an excellent credential for our poli
celike role in condemning that nation
of Iraq for invading Kuwait. Our wise
decisions on governmental rule have
helped lift such men as Pinoche of
Chile and Marcos of the Philippines
to power. Our belief in the one and
true democratic way has had us stuff
ing ballots in Chile. After all, as Kissin
ger noted, the issues were too impor
tant for the voters to decide for them
selves.
How interesting that a nation so
economically dependent upon its
military should enter a war at a time
when the military budget was facing
cuts that would ultimately result in
higher unemployment for former
servicemen and women during our
current recession. Instead, as the war
progressed, defense manufacturers
were humming, military personnel
retained their positions and the mili
tary budget expanded.
The effects of brainwashing last a
long time. Remember, the enemy
without is never as fearsome as the
enemy within.
B.K. Cheshier
graduate student
psychology/Russian
Women at risk
Forum focuses on AIDS prevention
By Jean Lass
Staff Reporter
The increase in the numbers of women
infected by AIDS is an alarming concern that
must be addressed, said a counseling director
Tuesday at a Women’s Issues Week discussion
in the Nebraska Union.
Donna Polk, director of counseling at the
University of Nebraska-Lincoln Office of Multi
cultural Affairs, said that in Lancaster County
there arc 183 AIDS cases, including adults,
adolescents and children.
Women arc at risk for the disease because it
is very difficult for them to request that the man
wear a condom and ask him about his sexual
history, she said.
To help women feel more comfortable put
ting a condom on a man and asking him to wear
a condom, Polk paired up the women and gave
them bananas as a substitute.
Any sexually active female who has “high
risk” sex is a possible victim of AIDS, she said.
Polk defined high-risk sex as having sexual
intercourse with multiple partners and intrave
nous drug users or by experimenting with anal,
oral and rough vaginal sex.
-44 --
AIDS is a part of our lives,
and we need to talk about
prevention of the disease.
Polk, counseling director, multi-cultural
affairs office
-ft -
She said women have to be aware that sex is
“risky business,” and avoid being with “strange
people in strange places.”
Polk also recommended women be tested
for the HIV virus which causes AIDS.
However, she said women should not go to
their family doctor to be tested because the
results will become a permanent part of their
medical records.
Instead, women can go to the Indian Center
Health Department for tests, she said. The
Indian Center offers pre- and post-counseling
for women tested for the virus.
To educate more women on AIDS, there
will be a “Women and AIDS” workshop April
13 at the Culture Center. A S13 registration fee
is required, or arrangements can be made for
women who can’t afford the fee to attend.
Week’s activities address
women’s concerns, issues
From Staff Reports
A number of activities are planned for
Women’s Issues Week, Tuesday through March
16, pan of the National Women’s History Month.
The featured event is the Dance Brigade,
which will be Saturday at 8 p.m. in the Centen
nial Room of the Nebraska Union.
The Dance Brigade is a group of live danc
ers whose work is based on the myths of women ’s
sexuality, reproductive rights and women s
rights to control their own bodies.
Featured speakers for the week include Susan
Welch, chairwoman of the Chancellor s Com
mission on the Status of Women at the Univer
sity of Nebraska-Lincoln. She will speak about
women in higher education, March 14 at 7 p.m.
in the Georgian Suite of the Nebraska Union.
Beth Mullaney, who sued the Indian Hills
Community Church in Lincoln, will discuss
the violation of confidentiality in counseling,
March 15 at 8 p.m. in the Culture Center.
Hattie Gossett, a jazz performer and writer
from New York, N.Y., will give a poetry read
ing March 16 at 8 p.m. in the Regency Suite of
the Nebraska Union.
All events are free for UNL students except
the Dance Brigade, which is $5 for students and
S10 for non-students.
Activities are sponsored by University of
Nebraska-Lincoln groups and local organiza
tions, including the Women’s Resource Cen
ter, University Program Council and the Femi
nist Action Alliance.
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