Attacking Iraq would cause utter chaos

Though U.N. weapons inspectors have found no clear evidence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, the Bush administration appears bent on attacking anyway. Two probable reasons come to mind: the crude oil stored in amazing abundance under Iraq's soil, and Israel's unseemly control over U.S. foreign policy as it lusts with murderous frenzy to fulfill its dream of Greater (or could it be Greater-Greater?) Israel.

A war's cost in human life would be horrendous; what about the future of Iraq and the region? In all likelihood, Iraq would descend into civil strife, with Kurds, Sunni Muslims and Shiite Muslims battling along religious and ethnic lines. Such chaos would make occupation a nightmare for U.S. forces, not to mention for the Iraqis.

Say what you will about Saddam, only a dictator of his ruthlessness could have tamed that disparate mix of proud and fractious groups, carved into an arbitrary nation-entity by the colonial British. They're still there, and President Bush expects a replacement for Saddam to install peace, harmony and democracy in Iraq? Not in my lifetime, Dubya, or yours.

We must let the inspections work. We, and the world, can win without war.

Robert H. Stiver
Pearl City

An Iraq solution many could live with

I'm tired of all the messing around. Here's how to settle things, at least for the moment (I'm counting on John Ashcroft monitoring my mail, so this one goes right to the top): Saddam Hussein, in the interest of peace and good will, although without admitting he was actually in the wrong, agrees to go into exile. His only condition: George W. does so, too.

Thank you. Hold the awards, please.

Ed Michel
Naalehu, Hawaii

Prosecutor isn't so tough on corruption

City Prosecutor Peter Carlisle's vow to clean up Hawaii's political system by targeting illegal campaign contributions (Star-Bulletin, Jan. 31) is specious, given the generous plea agreement secured by Michael Matsumoto's attorney. I applaud attorney Howard Luke for securing a promise of no jail time for his client, an engineer who pleaded no contest to charges of laundering campaign contributions to Mayor Harris and former Gov. Benjamin Cayetano to the tune of more than $139,500. If Matsumoto's scheme was "obviously premeditated, coordinated and deliberate," as Carlisle says, then why shouldn't the scheming engineer be given a prison sentence?

Matsumoto and his firm, SSFM International, gained approximately $2,768,000 at the expense of taxpayers, the difference between SSFM's initial contract of $932,000 and the $3.7 million the firm actually collected. Even if Matsumoto's own contributions were subtracted from the $3.7 million, he and SSFM still made a hefty profit.

How does Carlisle propose to stop future illegal contributions if there is no deterrent effect? Why not send Matsumoto to jail and have SSFM reimburse the $2.77 million to the taxpayers?

I implore Judge Karl Sakamoto toignore the prosecution's "no jail time" recommendation. Send the message loud and clear: Political corruption will not be tolerated and no one gets to keep their ill-gotten gains!

Debra Lee

Senators fight Bush pollution rollbacks

When people recite the popular phrase "Lucky you live Hawaii," they do so with the appreciation of the aura of Hawaii: its food, diversity, people and, most important, its beauty.

Unfortunately, beauty has been lost on the Bush administration. On Jan. 22, Senator Akaka voted in favor of an amendment that would have stopped the Bush administration from its assault on clean air. Senator Inouye was absent at the vote. North Carolina's Senator John Edwards offered a failed amendment that would have prevented thousands of premature deaths and illnesses, such as lung and respiratory problems, across the nation by preserving a key Clean Air Act provision requiring power plants to meet modern clean air standards.

The Bush rollback is one of the most significant attacks in the Clean Air Act's history. The rule change would increase pollution from as many as 17,000 industrial facilities across the nation, worsening smog and soot problems. Here in Hawaii, 125 sources will be allowed to increase air pollution under the Bush changes.

In the coming months, Senators Akaka and Inouye very likely will have more opportunities to fight Bush's rollback on environment regulations, and I urge them to continue to stand up for clean air.

Eric Hananoki

Gambling's already here, so why fight it?

I do not know why people are opposed to gambling in Hawaii, when it's already here, on the Internet and in the underworld of society.

Phil Robertson

Recycling program succeeds on Oahu

Just wanted to let everyone know that curbside recycling can be and has been successful here. Oahu Community Recycling has offered curbside recycling to all areas from Diamond Head to Kailua for the past three years and now is expanding to the North Shore. The group donates 100 percent of its collected recyclables directly to the schools in each community and offers its services for a small monthly subscription fee. If the government could help fund this program, I have no doubt that it would be an island-wide success. The bottle bill and curbside recycling go hand in hand and we need to support both.

Tamar Mesa
Kailua

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