Still hard questions to face on Iraq

To the Editor,

The election is over, and there has been little change. Bin Laden could have hit our nuclear facilities on September 11, 2001, but didn't, why? The senseless slaughter of our troops in Iraq continues. The only solution is if and when the families and or friends of these troops bring suit against those responsible for this crime.

Under date of April 29, 2003, Paul Krugman said in "Matters of Emphasis," does it matter that we were misled into war in Iraq? Some say it doesn't; we won. And the Iraqis have been freed. But we ought to ask some hard questions - not just about Iraq, but about ourselves.

First, why is our compassion so selective? In 2001 the World Health Organization called for a program to fight infectious diseases in poor countries, arguing that it would save the lives of millions of people every year, the U.S. share of the expenses would have been about $10 billion per year, a small fraction of what we will spend on war and occupation. Yet the Bush administration contemptuously dismissed the proposal. On April 22, 2002, Dr. Wendy Johnson, a board member of the World Health Organization, placed an article in the Nation magazine telling about the millions of people dying from hunger and diseases and we could not avoid it.

R. Matthews Bath