Religious war will end
with possible extermination

Dear A.M. Costa Rica:
 
I’d like to add my small voice to Mr. Sargent’s over-riding opinion concerning religion and its effects on world peace.  Particularly the role religion played in 9/11 and many other horrors too numerous to mention.
 
The well read history buff-student knows the past glory and astonishing contribution of Arab culture in mathematics, astronomy, philosophy, literature, and science. They might also have learned that the Arabs are a patient, intelligent, and cunning people who have also mastered the art of revenge.  It is unlikely that Muslims have or will ever forget the barbarous outrages of Christianity's first unprovoked attack on Jerusalem by zealot “crusaders’ in 1095 A.D.
 
Given this history and the facts adduced, it is my firm belief despite all the various economic, [oil], and political motives, [imperialist?], that the Islamic Middle East and the Christian West are engaged in a religious war which will only end with the triumph and extirpation of one, or both of their respective culture and religions.  If correct, this cataclysm will have enormous consequences for much of humanity, the environment and civilization as we now know it. 

Consider the words of Pascal;  “men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction”.


Canadian television poll
certainly lacks validity

Dear A.M. Costa Rica:

I find many of the the letters to the editor silly and uninformed, but the letter from Tom Hochreiner is frankly outrageous. Canada is about as anti-American as dogs are anti-meat.

I am sure a local news station did a rigorous scientific and statistically reliable study.  Do you think the TV station you refer to was going to find a usable story in a poll that said Canadians did not think the U.S. deserved what happened on 911. I am confident you stopped to ask validity of that poll and the nature of the questions they asked. It might help put it in perspective that many Canadians died in the towers and Canadian troops were in Afghanistan as early as Dec. 19, 2001, and were still there in 2011 in support of the U.S.
 
What I remember of the Canadian reaction to 9/11 remember the huge demonstration in Ottawa in support of the U.S., attended by thousands of Canadians mourning the deaths of the dead in New York and the suffering of the U.S.  Ask the tens of thousands of Americans who were on the flights that were diverted to Canada on 9/11 how anti-American the Canadians are.

I think the U.S. president said best in a letter of thanks to Canada for it support.

“For the next three days — before our airspace was reopened — those displaced passengers were treated like family in Canadian homes, receiving food, shelter, medical attention, and comfort."

I worked for a Canadian company for over 10 years and spent a lot of time in Ottawa and Toronto. I also lived 20 miles from the Canadian border for over 30 years. Over that time and experience with a sample I am sure was larger than the so called poll by the TV station. I found Canadians, as Americans felt a very special relationship between the two countries. 

I once saw a poll on TV that said New Yorkers and people from New Jersey were a very rude group as Americans go. Maybe the poll taken by that station was taken of people directly across the New Jersey, New York border area.  Yes, the Middle East believed we deserved 9/11 but tarring Canadians with that sentiment is frankly outrageous.

I think Americans should consider both the slaughter we have inflicted on populations around the world but equally we should consider the lives we have saved through humanitarian aid as well as military aid.   I am particularly proud of our efforts in Bosnia where we saved Muslim lives while Europeans stood by frozen. We can hope we (the U.S.) have had our fill of slaughter but sadly I am afraid we have not, but I am confident the good we do will always be there. Ask Haiti, Africa about AIDS and malaria support and many other countries.