Traficant stands with those who oppose U.S.

Traficant stands with those who oppose U.S.
EDITOR:
Imagine, if you can, how you would have felt on Dec. 8, 1941, if your congressman had stood in the well of the House of Representatives and said that America was to blame for the attack on Pearl Harbor. Imagine if he had said that the proper response to it was not a war against the perpetrators of the sneak attack, but an adjustment of our policy in Asia to be more evenhanded.
The current war launched against the United States demands a response no less focused, and no less furious than that of 60 years ago. And yet, while the smoke from the attack still stains the skies of Manhattan, and even while a few surviving victims literally buried alive still cry for help from beneath the mountain of rubble, our congressman says that America must be more "fair" in its dealings in the Middle East.
Traficant says, "I believe that America's policy in the Mideast is so one-sided that we endanger now American citizens. We must be fair in our policy. ... Congress must now look in the mirror and do what is right and be fair."
There is a name for this policy. It is appeasement. Appeasement is not simply unproductive; it is cowardly and shameful.
Not content to humiliate our Valley with his antics in Congress, nor to incriminate himself in actions that have led to a federal indictment, Traficant now wants our country to grovel before those who hold us in murderous contempt. Let us be rid of this disgrace -- and soon.
ERIC CHEVLEN, M.D.
Youngstown, Ohio
Americans must come together, trust leaders
EDITOR:
First and foremost I am proud and will remain proud to be an American.
However, I as an American felt vulnerable as I watched the twin towers crumble to the ground burying thousands of innocent Americans. How could such a vicious act of terrorism take place in my country?
In the hours that followed, I realized that we as Americans cannot feel vulnerable. Instead we must feel resilient.
We are the land of the free and, most important, of the brave. We will come back from this awful catastrophe only if we stick together as Americans and trust that our government, our president will find the responsible, heartless, and cowardly masterminds behind this act and retaliate to the fullest extent. Then and only then will the Star Spangled Banner wave higher and brighter than ever before.
THOMAS JAMES SQUILLO
New Castle
Pray that lawbreakers are brought to God and justice
EDITOR:
The Apostle Paul was a terrorist when his name was Saul and before he met Jesus. After he met the living Lord he repented of his sin and was forgiven and went on to serve the Lord and to preach the Gospel to the gentiles.
We should forgive these people, but by the grace of God who has blessed this nation for many generations, they are us.
Unto the nations is given the power of the sword (by God). Laws have been broken and our law enforcement and judicial system has been established under God to bring the lawbreakers to justice.
This we should do according to our laws. Submit yourselves to every authority placed over you for they are God's agents to bring you blessing. God says forgive as you have been forgiven, the government is the agent under God to bring the lawbreakers to justice. We pray that the doers of this evil will meet the Lord Jesus Christ and their lives will be changed as the Apostle Paul's was on the road to Damascus.
KEN and FRANCINE WEBER
Mercer
U.S. policy in Mideast to blame for terrorist attack
EDITOR:
Osama bin Laden is being blamed for the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington. He may have arranged for the suicide bombers who manned the hijacked planes, but that's as far as his responsibility goes. Behind him are all of the Muslim nations of the Middle East, although they will all deny responsibility. Finding bin Laden will be like finding a needle in a haystack. The invitation to this terrorist act lies in our government in Washington, which really invited the attack because of our Middle East policy of unilaterally backing Israel over the Palestinians.
If a person wants to blame anybody for the attack on Washington and New York, blame those in Washington who decided that Israel is to be preferred over all of the nations of the Middle East and the world.
Which one of these nations is to be attacked in retaliation for this devastating attack on New York and the Pentagon? The American people had better wake up. Unfortunately it is the ordinary people who pay the price for the follies of our powers that be.
What the Muslim nations have decided is that this is to be a terrorist war while they all hide behind anonymity complaining that they could not have had anything to do with this because the persons who did the hijacking were individuals who made up their own minds and took the action unilaterally.
Before this is over, the whole world will be in ashes. Is our foreign policy worth the fear of every time a passenger boards a plane he wonders whether the plane will be hijacked by a suicidal Muslim?
RICHARD D. MURRAY M.D.
Youngstown
Lives may be changed, but our spirit will prevail
EDITOR:
The shock and devastation has been a wake-up call to the real world we live in. We look in horror as our lives will ever be changed.
As with Pearl Harbor, the reality of life has come upon us. The devastation dealt Tuesday will be another obstacle we must and will overcome.
The price will be enormous, but we cannot let a group of cowards take away the things we have fought so hard to maintain.
In 1941 our then-enemy said, "We have awakened a sleeping giant. & quot;
Never forget. The human spirit that we have will prevail upon any people who try to take away from our lives.
The price of freedom is not cheap. But the spirit cannot be broken. We will put an end to terrorism.
MICHAEL DAVIDUK
Seminole, Fla
X The writer, a Vietnam vet now living in Florida, grew up in the Valley.
Tax dollars should stay in America, not go overseas
EDITOR:
We are paying our troops to defend other countries when we could use those tax dollars to get our own people off the streets. You would think our government would want to help us first.
We are the ones who have worked for this country every day and still live in poverty because we can't afford to go to school. Our streets are run down because our money doesn't go to help us, but to help other countries.
The government is more worried about politics than safety. They should have known this would happen by letting our enemies into our country. There are always consequences.
How we should respond and prevent this from happening again is obvious. Stop letting these people into this country, and pay attention to who we are and why.
We should start using tax money for bettering our own country and fix what is wrong here. We need to stop thinking we can save the world and worry about saving the United States. We live in a democracy and believe in freedom, others don't.Others believe in war and control.
The people that attacked us Tuesday were extremists. They did whatever it took to prove a point at whatever the cost. They trained their own people to commit suicide.
If we want to continue to live in a free society we are going to have to protect what we believe in.
HOLLY CONNOLLY
Austintown
X The writer is a YSU student.
Proud Americans shouldmove forward as one
EDITOR:
Many Americans of every race, creed, color, and religion from all four corners of the Earth lost their lives. We should never lose sight of that and start to vent our anger and pain at other Americans because of their heritage.
We as proud Americans must move forward with honor and pride as we have since the founding of our democracy and republic. We cannot let the cowardly terrorists win and paralyze the American people and our freedoms.
WILLIE JAMES RICHARDS
Youngstown
Citizens show patriotism, support of those in need
EDITOR:
As an 18-year-old college student, I have never experienced anything like the events of Sept. 11, 2001.
My heart goes out to the victims, families and rescuers. Though we as a nation will never forget the tragic events in New York and Washington, we should never forget how the citizens of the United States are coming together in a time of need.
The donations are pouring in, the volunteers are relentless and strangers are coming together for one cause. Never as a nation have we clung to each other so strongly. I commend everyone for their patriotism and support of those struggling with the pain they are feeling, mentally as well as physically.
In times like these, the only thing everyone can do is pray
JENNIFER BRYSON
Boardman
X The writer is a YSU student.
Terrorists have destroyed lives but not our nation
EDITOR:
On Tuesday, September 11, a terrible evil was unleashed on our country by evil sons of their God, for reasons known only to them. If their intent was to destroy or disrupt the life of our nation then they have failed completely.
The only thing they have done is to take the lives of innocent people, present and generations yet unborn, those whose only purpose was to live their lives fully and completely.
Now all our prayers and efforts must be directed toward the care of the families and friends of the victims. We can only pray that there is a special place in Heaven for the victims and their families where they can live in peace and without fear for time.
DONALD H. DILLEY
Kinsman
Return prayer to schools
EDITOR:
We, as a nation, have come together in prayer at many, many churches throughout every community in the United States. Our president even proclaimed Friday as a national day of prayer. Because of the terible tragedy that has struck the United States, we have truly become one nation under God again.
Maybe now would be the time that we should put prayer back into our schools and our lives. We owe our children the security of knowing that we are united with God. Our nation needs to put prayer back into our lives -- now, before it is too late.
NANCY MUENNICH
Brookfield