To the editor:

In the Nov. 29 issue of the paper, William Skepnek quoted Benjamin Franklin as saying there never was a good war or a bad peace. I know of no one who would disagree with that statement; however, I doubt that Benjamin Franklin could envision someone willing to strap a bomb to their body and commit suicide and murder in one simple move. Nor could Benjamin Franklin envision a pilot flying a plane into a building and murdering thousands. You could assume that reasonable people could settle their differences without war, but terrorists are not reasonable people.

Skepnek refers to the military in Iraq as mercenaries. This is the same mistake that John Kerry made when he referred to our military people in Iraq as less than intelligent. I know many quality, honest, intelligent people who have made an intellectual decision to make a career in the military. To call them mercenaries is absurd.

Skepnek states that the problem with the Vietnam draft, like the Internal Revenue Code, was the loopholes. He apparently feels the reason we lost that war was due to the loopholes. The reason we lost that war was the lack of support of a majority of our people, not loopholes. If we lose the war on terror it will be due to the lack of support from a majority of our people.

Bob Marsh,

Lawrence