To the Visor:

Gandhi once said, "An eye for an eye makes the whole world go blind." This was consistent with the teachings of Jesus Christ, who taught us to love our enemies and turn the other cheek. But Chris Arko knows better.

The Spanish people overwhelmingly opposed the internationally illegal invasion of Iraq. Their government ignored their expression of opposition. In a democracy, the people respond to governments that ignore them by voting them out. An elected president confirms that he will fulfill the promise upon which his people elected him--pull Spanish troops out of the illegal invasion of Iraq. But Chris Arko knows better.

People throughout the Middle East have suffered torture, exile, separation from families, destruction of homes and death. The agents of this suffering, dictators like Saddam Hussein, monarchs like the former Shah of Iran and the current Shah of Saudi Arabia, the apartheid government of Israel, were and are propped up by the U.S. government. The U.S. continues to send billions of dollars to Israel every year, looking the other way as Israel practices genocide and constructs the most famous wall since the one in Berlin. The U.S. supplies an Iraqi dictator with chemical weapons, then looks the other way as he uses them to kill thousands of Iranian and Kurds. The U.S. spends millions to use its military as a private police force to keep monarchs in power in Saudi Arabia, while looking the other way as Saudis repress the democratic aspirations of their own people. The victims decide the U.S. will never change its repressive policies unless subjected to a small taste of what they have experienced over decades. But Chris Arko knows better.

On Sept. 11, 2001, a well-organized group of people willing to die for what they believed in, killed 3,000 people and destroyed several buildings. The U.S. people chose to allow this act to change their entire way of life, giving up their liberties in the name of security. Life as we knew it was "changed forever." The U.S. government allowed the perpetrators of that evil act to win. They destroyed our faith in democracy, liberty, fair play, justice and cooperation. On March 11, 2004, a well-organized group killed hundreds and destroyed three train stations. The Spanish people chose to stand firm on their democratic values. Refusing to allow politicians to blow this act out of proportion and manipulate it to continue attacking the government's favorite target, the Basque separatists, the Spanish carried through on their option for world peace, rule of law and respect for human rights. Those who lived under the repressive régime of Franco for decades were unwilling to sacrifice their hard-earned liberties on the altar of false promises of security. Those who have never known the boot of repression firsthand quickly established the Office of Homeland Security, passed the Patriot Act and set up a concentration camp offshore in Guantanamo, Cuba. Who has "provided al-Qaeda with their very first victory over a government, measured by a drastic policy change in compliance with the terrorists' wills?" Let's ask Chris Arko. He should know better.

--Dan Bell, Hoban parent

Chris Arko responds:

In my last column, I never said or intimated that I agree with past U.S. policy in the Middle East, and I specifically stated that I disagree with the war in Iraq. I also specifically said that Zapatero's campaign promise was to remove Spanish troops from Iraq, and that I respect the Spanish people's sentiments against the war. I simply said following through with this promise after the bombings makes Zapatero's action look like cowardice, even though he was fulfilling his campaign promise.