Letter: Cheney, Bush have overstepped bounds

Sunday, Nov. 4, 2007 | 1:45 a.m.

Vice President Dick Cheney sits at his desk and rubs his crystal ball, all the while plotting what he will say to urge President Bush to threaten Iran. When he says to the press, "We will never allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon," we, the people, would like to know who "we" is .

This is indeed a precipitous statement. What happened to the Iraq war? Has a recess been declared there? Are the Iraqi people free? No, they are still captives as long as Americans occupy their territory.

Bush and Cheney deluded the Congress and the American people into believing as they did, and they acceded to the ruinous attack. We have seen and suffered a continuation of the Iraq war for nearly five years, only to deem it an abject failure.

Historically, the colonization of America was fought by those who could no longer tolerate the denial of their freedoms by the king of England. They created a nation with a constitutional government. Never have I read that their goal was to rule the world.

In the '40s when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, Americans fought to protect this nation. Hitler had amassed a huge army, and with the continuous bombing raids on England, we were forced to engage him in combat.

Let us recognize that we are one nation in the world. We, as part of this world, recognize the needs of many smaller nations. We cannot be "Big Brother," sending troops all over the world. By invading Iraq we opened a can of worms and our secretary of state has made minute headway in the Middle East. Russia, Israel, North Korea and now Iran all have nuclear missile fever.

So, as Cheney rubs his crystal ball, does he envision another world war? Do we want what would doubtlessly be the last war in this world?

Madelyn Olds, Las Vegas