It is disheartening that in his opinion Wednesday, Mr. Furey blended the anniversary of Sept. 11 with a wish for victory in Iraq. Neither the government of Iraq nor its people had anything to do with the attacks of Sept. 11. I am not surprised however that many of my fellow citizens continue to make the mistake of mixing up the two. When citizens are bombarded by the media with deceitful claims – that Iraq had something to do with 9/11 – then they can believe a lot of myths, such as that the war against Iraq is justified. They may even believe that it is winnable. We are also willing to go to great lengths to create enemies around the world – our most recent military expedition in Iraq has done just that. People around the world and in our country are not born hating Americans or the government that represents and acts on our behalf. They learn to hate us. In fact, we teach them to hate us with our actions. The unilateral declaration of war against Iraq, its false justification, its bloody invasion and even bloodier occupation have taught people around the world that our country is not the just and moral world power that our leaders portray it to be. Thousands of American soldiers and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis have perished in this unjustified war. And it has fueled more terrorism and hatred for America. So before you unjustly support a war simply out of 9/11 sadness, I will conclude with a wish, too. While studying here, work on improving your critical thinking skills. Don’t swallow the lies that you’re being served without chewing them even a little bit.