Your View: two views from 10/8

The blaring media message as of Sept. 25 at the writing of this letter is, "Democrats accuse Bush of playing politics!" The Democrats, the party of Demagogues, are assailing Bush for not dumping all of his "highly classified information" for all the world to see, in a knee-crawling effort to convince them that we must act preemptively against Iraq.

Democrats say Bush is playing politics because he wants to take Saddam out before he facilitates a terrorist attack on the scale of 9/11, on innocent civilians in America or Israel.

"It's just politics," the Democrats say, because Bush hasn't produced a dramatic Perry Mason-style "All right, all right, it's true" emotional outburst from Saddam. Short of that, the Democrats need a real time live video of Saddam in the act of a current atrocity of sufficient magnitude, preceded by a charming open house tour of his camouflaged missile facilities and his chemical laboratories in the basement of hospitals.

Only then might extreme left wing Democrats condone taking action against the "Butcher of Baghdad," and even then, only if we have a Democrat in the White House.

The Bush Administration and a majority of Americans know full well that the ruse the Democrats are playing is a dangerous one. Many innocent American lives are at stake in this dangerous game being played by the Democrats. But innocent lives or not, Democrats need power!

Extreme left wing Democrats are duty bound to play the game because it's the only game they know, and it's always worked before, once they get their talking points amplified through major media outlets. But will it work this time?

The Democrats who are accusing Bush of playing politics are most guilty of their own accusations. They just have a different political agenda than Bush. And theirs is not in the interest of what's good for American National Security. But rather what's good for the advancement of their "anti-traditional America" agenda.

The Bush Administration and the majority of sane Americans know full well that any inspections that would be successful in uncovering the evidence the Democrats say they must have would have to be predicated on three essential elements.

The U.N. inspectors must be (1) heavily armed, (2) able to go anywhere, at any time, without Saddam's tour guides and (3) able to take Iraqi informers out of the country, with their families to reveal where Saddam's most dangerous weapons are hidden.

Who in their right mind thinks U.N. inspectors will have this power of unfettered access? Who in their right mind even thinks the U.N. would ever exercise such power against Saddam?

Absent those three basic elements, so-called U.N. inspectors are a sick joke and the secrets that the Democrats want exposed before we offend Saddam, and the Arab League will remain with Saddam and hidden from the world until it is too late.

John McMillen

Recently Sen. Jean Carnahan hosted Sen. Tom Daschle of South Dakota at a fund-raising event for her re-election campaign. As a citizen of Missouri, living and working in the Missouri River Valley, I am alarmed at Senator Carnahan's insensitivity to her state's farmers, municipalities and businesses by her alliance with the No. 1 enemy of Missouri's water rights.

Until now, I have been appreciative of Senator Carnahan's position on the Missouri water rights issue as contained in the Missouri River Corps of Engineers Master Manual Review. In a bipartisan manner, all of Missouri's political leaders have worked diligently in the battle to protect Missouri's water interests. The ongoing battle against those who wish to steal our water, forget our flood protection and sell the Missouri River to Arizona and California has never been hotter. On the back of agenda-based science, one fish and two birds are being used as camouflage by Senator Daschle and the upstream states of South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana and Wyoming to hide their real plan.

Senator Daschle is the undisputed enemy of Missouri's water rights battle. Senator Carnahan's actions are the same as moving in with the enemy.

As a citizen of Missouri, living and working in the Missouri River Valley, I can assure Senator Carnahan that her invitation to and hosting of Senator Daschle will be remembered when I vote this November. If she won't represent her constituents, I'm sure Jim Talent will.

Bill Jackson, general manager Agriservices of Brunswick