Impeachment is an illogical rallying cry

In response to Sherry Jensen's diatribe regarding the impeach- ment of our president, let's take each of her points one at a time.

First, President Clinton was not impeached for infidelity. He was impeached for lying under oath. His license to practice law in the state of Arkansas was sus- pended because of this activity.

Second, President Bush did not lie about weapons of mass de- struction. He stated what he and many others believed to be true.

Almost everyone, including Clinton, U.S. Sens. Al Gore, John Kerry and many others who now criticize the president made state- ments even stronger than Presi- dent Bush's about Iraq's WMDs.

I challenge you to find any statements by the president call- ing anyone a traitor. Don't at- tribute statements of some of his supporters to the president. There are people on both sides of the political spectrum that make out- rageous comments.

The issue regarding the Geneva Convention has to do with how the CIA treats the de- tainees. The CIA informed the president that they need clarifica- tion so that they can be assured that their interrogators will not be subject to prosecution for the methods that they employ to help protect this country.

They are the ones that stated they will have to discontinue their interrogation without this clarifi- cation, not the president. Article 3 is vague and needs clarification.

What war crimes has our president committed? The Senate, including almost all of the sena- tors, voted to commit our coun- try to go to war against Iraq.

These men and women, as well as many of our allies had access to the same intelligence that the president had and all con- cluded that Iraq was a threat.

It amazes me how so many of the president's detractors want to rewrite history, to deny the actual facts of who supported this coun- try in its commitment to get rid of Saddam Hussein.

How can you complain about the lack of freedom of speech in this country when this fine publi- cation provided you exactly that freedom? The Dixie Chicks have never been denied their ability speak their minds. If people dis- agree with them and choose not to patronize their services, that is called free choice. If anyone threatens physical violence to- ward them, then those individu- als should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

Have there been mistakes or miscalculations made in the pros- ecution of this war? The answer is yes. But tell me what war this or any other country has been in where mistakes or miscalcula- tions have not been made.

Wars are fluid events because the opposing sides are constantly trying to outmaneuver each other. Once a conflict starts, all plans become obsolete. We are now in a fight that we must finish. I am saddened that the president ap- pears to be unwilling at this point to commit the resources necessary to bring the war to a successful conclusion because of the politi- cal fallout it will have on the up- coming elections. Let's encourage all politicians to help our troops win this war so that they can come home. Jerry Osborn Newbury Park