War must be a last resort

Something is definitely amiss when the Department of… War must be a last resort

Something is definitely amiss when the Department of Defense and former General Norman Schwarzkopf are hesitant about going to war with Iraq. Some believe the United States has not “made it’s case ” for war, but moreover many believe that the consequences of the United States rushing in could be catastrophic for both the United States and the region.

For instance, “What shall be done with Iraq after a war?” The country itself has no true national identity. The Kurds would almost definitely push for a new state, the Shiite Muslims would want to go with Iran or at least separate from Iraq and finally the rest of the Sunni Arabs will probably want to scatter like the sands of the desert. So what is to be done?

Do we hold Iraq with ground troops? For how long? We do not have the support of any major power outside the United Kingdom. Hence, we will spread an already over-reached military even farther. Who will pay for the war? The last Gulf War was paid for almost entirely by the rest of the coalition. There is no real coalition this time. Most of our allies are new NATO members and those that aren’t, such as Denmark, Portugal, etc. are too small to foot much of the bill.

A war turbulent region, such as the Middle East, should be entered with only an exhaustive amount of consideration. Let us not forget the British Empire rushed into what it thought to be a quick little war in 1914; though the British Empire did win, it did not foresee the devastating consequences, one being the collapse of the Empire.

Douglas Cortinovis

CAS junior

“Those girls” are just a stereotype

I would like to respond to Beth Hommel’s Feb. 4 column titled “The daily fear of being associated with ‘those girls.'” Beth, I think you need to re-evaluate your perception of “those girls” a little more closely. You may just find an ironic contradiction. You see, by stereotyping girls that you don’t even know and by associating a skinny blonde on her cell phone as one of “those girls,” you dive head first into a worse category. That is the category of a narrow-minded, superficial person who judges people on looks alone.

Yes, I am blond, I talk on my cell phone and I am – God forbid – in a sorority. As a matter of fact, I was president of my sorority. I own black AND brown boots. So what? You should not convict girls because they fit a superficial stereotype that is undoubtedly the product of our own warped society. If you concentrated your energies on becoming a little more open-minded, maybe you would not have felt the need to write such a scornful column and you would not have gained so many enemies.

Beth, many of “those girls” are amazing girls, but you wouldn’t know that. Maybe one of “those girls” could have been one of your best friends, but you would miss out because all you see if blond hair, tall boots and a cell phone.

Lisa Pettinato

CAS senior