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Page THE HERALD Wednesday January 16 Editorial- Dogs of War As the Hills Herald went to press the Dogs of War had yet to be unleashed in the Middle East The keepers of the kennels Saddam Hussein and George Bush still had their respective hounds baying at the moon If and when hostilities erupt the world as we know it will undergo traumatic changes of the kind not seen since the turn of the century US President George Bush has drawn A line in the sand and Iraqs President Saddam Hussein has pro mised that his attackers will Swim in their own blood These statements should not be regarded as mere rhetoric In essence they represent statements of intent from the presidents of Iraq and the United States Both leaders have backed themselves into a corner with the only exit route paved in blood To borrow an illtimed and inappropriate remark from Canadas Prime Minister Brian the dice havebeen rolled and chances are given the Middle East scenario snakeeyes will turn up Arab countries distrust western power intentions and machination and rightly so From the lies fed to them by the legendary Lawrence of Arabia courtesy of the British government that led to the toppling of the Ot toman Empire through the Balfour Declaration and on up to the recognition of the State of Israel Arab nations have been treated with thinlyveiled contempt by western nations Saddam Hussein is using this affront to Arab culture and sensibilities combined with the western powers in transigent support of Israel to paint himself as the modemday champion of the Arab world Delusions of grandeur are not unusual in selfstyled saviors and Saddams postering conveniently camouflages his megalomania not to mention the un provoked invasion of Kuwait and the atrocities commit ted therein or similar acts of barbarism committed against his own people or the people of Iran in that futile bloodletting George Bush on the other hand is treated more gent ly by the western media Perceptually he is no different from Saddam Hussein A former Director of the CIA and vicepresident under Ronald Reagan Bush should not be viewed as a lilywhite crusader One need look no further than the invasions of Granada and Panama and the hypocrisy- that characterizes United States actions in Central America to realize that when American interests are threatened the US will act Lets not pretend that the United Statesled interven tion in the Middle East through the offices of the United Nations is predicated on the notion of saving the world from another Hitler That is and should be treated as such The United States became involved to protect American oil interests in the Gulf and to beefup George Bushs flagging popularity on the home front Canada is involved because Brian Mulroney wants to change his perceived wimp image to that of a warrior itwontwash Should war break out in the Middle East the young the naive the brave the trusting men and women of the various armed forces will suffer the consequences Some will die hideously others will suffer from wounds both physical and mental for the rest of their lives Similarly a line will be drawn not in the sand but around the globe that will irrevocably divide western christian culture and other cultures of the world Ironically both sides in the Middle East standoff believe their God will lead them to victory in a con flict A war in the Middle East if threats from both sides are to be believed will introduce this generation and the next to the horrors of armed conflict on a scale not seen before Chemical and bacteriological weapons will be used by Saddam Hussein if the need arises Israel will un doubtedly be attacked to further percolate the quagmire Given this projection the Israelis will answer with tactical nuclear weapons and similarly the US led forces will respond with either the highly destructive neutron bomb or tactical nuclear weapons It would be a war with no winner only worldwide losers If you happen to pass a Canadian war dead cenotaph over the next few days take time to read the names Take time to appreciate the ultimate sacrifice that was made for Canada Also take time to spare some thought for the male and female members of the Canadian Arm ed Forces serving in the Middle East There may be more names added to the war dead cenotaphs across Canada in the near future The Halton Hills HERALD Home Newspaper of Halton Hills Established 1 866 A Division ol Canadian Newspaper Company Limited Guelph Street Georgetown Ontario L7G 3Z6 K ROBERT Publisher and Genera Manager 8772201 BoontiopptlPot ImHiryotl CLASS I ED Join kit null CIRCULATION Mill Mnnla Aceounti SUBSCRIPTION RATE C Slorai HMfUi month all month Ihraa month I da month 1 month by It In National Toronto Ontario MJH or Cttncart St Montreal Tho aorta thai no ntl not Em tor tiling oat of amr In me pW lor apac actual by portion or the In Men rro occurred vch after It due to In negligence It or and wai iS To Replace iT OH SHORT Peoples Forum Letter of The Week False images of a police state Dear Editor I am writing in response to the letter of the week entitled Police Propaganda in the January issue of The Herald The letter by an anonymous author falsely con jures images of a police state where police officers haVe ultimate control over a persons guilt or innocence and one answerable to no one With my letter I hope to shed a little light on the daily dangers an officer faces I am a resident of Acton and I am proud to say I am a dispat cher for the Metropolitan Toronto Police Force As a dispatcher I can have control of 30 or more marked cars per shift Each and every minute of my shift I worry about my officers safety I know that each and every call dispatch an officer or officers to has the potential to escalate into a violent situation For example one night not long ago one of my officers stopped at the ever popular coffee shop after working nonstop for five His escort partner remained in the car while he went inside While he was inside another customer approached him and pulled a knife on him He had 10 more officers there for assistance within sixty seconds Un fortunately in Region assistance can be minutes away Over the last year I have seen an alarming increase in the number of gunrelated incidents You are aware of the number of gun store breakins in York Region well most of those guns wind up on the streets of Metro Toronto Even school age youths can purchase them with a tittle effort We dispatchers wont hesitate to keep a high priority call from being dispatched If there isnt a sufficient number of officers to respond Some people may think this is because we dont trust the officers ability Not so I want to make sure all of my men and women in blue go home at the end of the day Now a little technical knowledge A pellet gun fired at someones eye can blind them A pellet gun fired at extremely close range can kill Look at the unfortunate demise of the actor John Eric who was l illed when he fired a blank at his tem ple All that came out of that weapon was compressed air Had that youth pointed his air pistol at the officer before the officer had time to investigate him it could have been tragic The officer would have had pro bable cause to fear for his life The officer not knowing the youth had an air pistol may have shot him In that case the youth could have become quite dead as a result of playing How would Mr Name Withheld react If he was walking a street of Acton and a person stepped out of a doorway and pointed a gun at him Would he stop to theorize this might be a youth and that he might only have an air pistol Chances today are good that it is a real gun with real bullets be ing pointed at his head I only hope that the people who read his letter realize it is the uninformed ramblings of a per son who has probably come against the wrong side of the law Please when you see a police officer stop and thank himher for the dangerous work they do Lets all work together for a safer society Proudly James Acton A new years gift The Editor There once lived on planet Toronto a great defender of the overtaxed peasants of that do main Garth Turner was very elo quent in protesting tax in creases abuse of the system by Ottawa In fact he was known to get up with the Sun an early bird in his defense of the lowly peasants He sold the good people of on the idea that he could defend them against government overspending and more taxa- Of course he was elected Some time after his election the lowly peasants noticed that things had now changed Tax in creases like never before in the history of were not only passed into law but now the defender no longer defended the peasants In fact he told them that it their own good Even his stipend from the government increased dramatically since all of the Ot tawa lords felt they now had so much money to spend as a result of all the new taxes so instead of paying off some of the debt the lords had incurred they decided to make themselves a new years gift of an pay increase Even this would not have been such a bad thing if the good peo ple of Halton felt the country was no longer In a mess It was and is Oh a question when is not When it is TAX FREE JohnShadbolt Libertarian Party Acton