教授有问题吗?

Saman教授，我很困惑，也很困扰。作为一名教授，我经常向您寻求帮助来了解这个世界，但至少对我来说，您最近的来信毫无意义。也许是因为你教的科目。我相信那不可能是历史，因为你对过去事件的总结似乎与我所学的非常不同。把希特勒和萨达姆相提并论充其量是牵强附会——希特勒是一个军事天才，拥有一支决心统治世界的强大军队;萨达姆是一个弱小的第三世界国家的暴君，甚至比我们12年前轰炸他时还要弱小。德国征服了半个欧洲;萨达姆在几个月内就被赶出了科威特。更令人不安的是，你似乎没有注意到更近的历史——美国“解放”外国并成功建立稳定政府的能力。最近的一个例子(阿富汗)让我对为了别人而成为“自由战士”的想法有所犹豫。 Also you seem to forget that the last time Iraqis stood up against Saddam with us(hand in hand), we let them be slaughtered after we were done. But maybe history isn’t your subject. Maybe you teach philosophy and logic. Using your reasoning, why don’t we go along with what the French believe to be right, since we might be under British rule right now if it weren’t for them? Or using the logic that we must disarm a potentially dangerous foe with weapons of mass destruction, isn’t N. Korea problem #1? They have a nuclear weapons program, but no way to deliver the warheads(yet). Saddam is 10 years away at least from that point. Furthermore, there is very weak evidence that Saddam is connected with terrorist groups that would use such materials. Maybe you teach Humanities, and are concerned about justice. If we are worried about civil rights and saving lives, what about Libya, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, China, and all the other nations that have horrible records! I thought that we understood after Vietnam that being a freedom fighter for a country that doesn’t want American freedom is pointless. So maybe you teach math: What is the probability that weapons from Saddam will kill the number of Americans via terrorism vs the total cost and lives lost of a war. War: 70k-200k of dead American soldiers(CIA analysis), billions of dollars during a fiscal deficit, and the added costs of nation building after regime change. Benefit: No possibility that Saddam might transfer weapons to someone who might attack us, ignoring that there is very little evidence he would. Forgive my conservative attitude, but I want my money put on better odds. I have the utmost compassion for the experience of someone who has witnessed firsthand the atrocities of a maniacal despot, and do not doubt your courage, convictions, or depth of emotion that Saddam should be removed. If it were as simple as you make it seem, I would support war. As an American, I do doubt the rational behind going to war, and your reasoning speaks more to emotion than to reason. The evil man argument just isn’t enough to justify my friends and money being used to liberate Iraq. Liberation of Iraq is not a must, and I will not support it until you have given me a reason to do so. Daniel Egan CAS ’03 6174166892