January 7, 2005 | Page 4

OTHER LETTERS BELOW:
HRC's agenda is rock solid
Taken over by a university
Crime shows aren't reality
I'll be there to protest Bush

The terrorist who runs Iraq

Dear Socialist Worker,
Iyad Allawi, who was appointed prime minister of Iraq under the terms of the June 2004 constitution imposed by the occupying powers, is a well-known terrorist. One of his bombs killed schoolchildren on a bus. He is also accused of murdering six blindfolded and handcuffed prisoners at the infamous al-Amariyah security center in Baghdad last June.

George W. Bush's appointee for prime minister appears to enjoy murdering shackled prisoners and children for sport.

Allawi is a former member of Saddam Hussein's Baath Party. He quit or was expelled in 1975--an event that the occupying armies find impressive.

Allawi next became a CIA operative, informing on friends who later disappeared. He is credited with numerous bombings while employed by the U.S. taxpayers. These include a movie theater full of people and a mosque where Muslims worshipped. A bus bombing was timed to explode when children normally used it to get to school.

The Bush administration protests that Allawi is not a terrorist. The cinema, mosque and school children were blown up for "our side," so Allawi is a "hero."

Allawi's visits to al-Amariyah are considered very beneficial to George Bush's battle against "evildoers." The prime minister's assistance in the interrogation of Iraqis who were being tortured could generate more names of those who object to the occupation. Killing shackled prisoners while those who will be interrogated next watch often helps to loosen their tongues.

A prime minister who enjoys getting into the thick of things is a rare find, even for Bush.
Richard Geffken, Sumter Correction Institution, Bushnell, Fla.

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HRC's agenda is rock solid

Dear Socialist Worker,
Regarding "Liberal groups that shill for Democrats" (SW, December 17), the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) was never contacted regarding a piece in the New York Times that we responded to as being an incomplete and inaccurate article. We do not support the privatization of Social Security and would never undermine the rights of any other group to secure gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) rights.

In no way are we retreating from our rock-solid commitment to full marriage equality. Our only shift is to make the stories of real GLBT Americans and the protections we're denied under law more prominent.

Bringing real lives into the fold of any discussion shaping the laws of this nation is something I would assume most of your readers would favor.
J. Smith, HRC Senior Communications Manager, Washington, D.C.

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Taken over by a university

Dear Socialist Worker,
Most of the oppressed workers I know work in food service here in a West Virginia college town of 25,000 spoiled rich-kid students who like to drink, party and dine out. The workers are indigenous people, stuck in minimum-wage and part-time jobs with no benefits, at privately owned businesses, restaurants and bars.

What can they do? My sons are two of these workers. They feel trapped. They work to survive--and barely at that. There is no industry here (unless you count the piggy capitalist students with their deep pocket parental-financed appetites).

The university is taking over the town and are tearing down houses. Ours is slated for demolition--we have no control because we rent. They are catering to the wealthier students, building them fancy upscale apartments, while we will be relegated to the slum areas, forced to walk, dodging drunken-driver students wielding cell phones, and so on.

Is this shades of the Communist Manifesto?
Anonymous, from the Internet

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Crime shows aren't reality

Dear Socialist Worker,
With all the crime scene investigation shows now crowding prime time on television, I feel the public is being lured into a false sense of security as far as the capabilities of our police and judicial system are concerned.

Junk Forensics link: http://www.justicedenied.org/issue/issue_25/cheri_lynn_dale.html

Since I witnessed the conviction of my stepdaughter for a murder that I know she had absolutely nothing to do with, I find these shows less than entertaining. For conformation of this fact, read "Junk Forensics in San Diego, the Cheri Lynn Dale Story" on the Web.
Charles Caldwell, Leucadia, Calif.

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I'll be there to protest Bush

Dear Socialist Worker,
It is clear that the Bush administration will do everything to keep protesters away from the inauguration parade. They have succeeded almost every time in the past. I participated in protests in Washington, D.C., and New York City that went virtually unnoticed, regardless of the numbers involved (more than 500,000 at the Republican National Convention).

Regardless, I will be in D.C. once again just to turn my back on Bush. This time, to get through security and up close, I will wear a Bush pin, a U.S. flag pin, a "support our troops" pin--or all three. Bush cheated me out of a country, so my cheat would be quite minor in comparison.

I hope you can suggest similar ideas to your members to get through security and make this protest as effective as possible. We owe it to ourselves and the world.
Chuck Lance, From the Internet

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