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Letters in the Editor''s Mailbag.

Article Excerpt
Byline: The Register-Guard

War isn't antiseptic

I would like to respond to Lucius Gent's Jan. 20 letter, in which he writes that he wants the United States to get Osama bin Laden but not kill 3,000 innocent civilians. He is very careful to not give an alternative on how to accomplish this goal other than the way the war is currently being fought. If he has another way, then I am sure that many people would be interested in hearing it.

The American government has responded by bombing targets in Afghanistan that harbor terrorists. The military has shown extraordinary care in trying to avoid civilian targets: however, the Taliban hide their tanks and troops in civilian neighborhoods and civilian casualties occur. That is the nature of war. It is not possible to have an antiseptic war.

To counteract civilian losses, the United States has initiated food aid, and that is saving many civilian lives.

I commend Gent for his service in World War II. I too have extended family members who suffered in World War II; one was killed and another was severely wounded and is still on disability. If Gent and others like him had not fought and won World War II, where many, many, many civilians were killed, we might now be under the control of Nazis or communists.

FRANK WILLIAMS Florence

Send in the backpackers

According to an article in the Jan. 11 Register-Guard, because of transportation problems, people in mountain villages in Afghanistan are starving, even though thousands of sacks of wheat have been delivered to the cities of the country. Apparently there are no roads to these villages, and they can be reached only by many hours of walking over...