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Wow. It sure takes balls, obviously of the metaphorical kind, to admit the personal feelings Debra Dickerson does in her article. It takes a hell of a lot of skill, however, to articulate those same feelings so effectively that this left-leaning reader isn't completely disgusted and turned off. It would be fascinating to hear her thoughts on the post-"war" embargo and U.N.-sanctioned sanctions that have ravaged the Iraqi populace yet left the leadership intact. Maybe that uniquely qualified opinion will be coming in future contributions. One can only hope. -- Richard Stovall Los Angeles Oh Debra, oh Debra, such a sweet name for a killer. It's because of people like you that the U.S. is so egotistical and self-centered. What I find despicable is your blind patriotic attitudes and "my country, wrong or right" sentiments. It's clear to me that you joined the military to blindly follow the little Hitlers that run the forces. And so you followed your fascist feelings and why not. Everybody has a dream. Unless we declare war on them. Right? The only thing I thank you for is your blunt honesty. Most people wouldn't admit their joy of killing so much. Nobody has a right to kill and in turn everybody has a right to live and that includes people such as yourself. I forgive your hate but only because I see that you should have stayed in America and gone shopping rather than pick up a gun. Peace. -- Matt Langdon Debra Dickerson's claim that a democracy is best served by soldiers who don't ask who they are killing or why is truly frightening. Nazi Germany was able to murder millions of innocent people because loyal soldiers followed orders without asking questions. Appalled that anyone would carry out such atrocities, the Nuremberg Tribunal found that individuals are responsible for their actions even in war and that the fact that a soldier was following orders when she committed a war crime was not an acceptable defense. Former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark and others have extensively documented war crimes committed by the U.S. during the Gulf War. These crimes were planned and ordered by the likes of President Bush and Gen. Schwarzkopf, but they could not have taken place without the cooperation of people like Dickerson, who failed to question the illegal orders they were given. When governments turn criminal our only hope is that good people will refuse to obey unjust laws and unjust orders. -- Sean Donahue Was it really bad timing or just poor taste that put Debra Dickerson's callous account of bombing Iraq as the lead story only days after 24 civilians died and 59 were wounded in an unprovoked act of aggression (the pope's words) by our country on Iraq. I have family in the military; my grandfather is a disable veteran. I respect the men and women who fight for us. What I do not respect is a total lack of empathy for other humans, regardless of their nationality. Dickerson's account of the video-game glee over "killing as many Iraqis ... as possible" left me feeling ill. I'm sorry I do not share her pride; reading her article made me momentarily ashamed to be an American. -- Misty Speake Atlanta SALON | Feb. 1, 1999

R E C E N T L Y+| DOWN FOR THE COUNT BY C.D. ELLISON

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