At first glance, I considered the possibility that Kasey Moyes' letter ("War necessary, can rarely be avoided" SN 6/9) was tongue-in-cheek. However, on rereading I decided that Moyes was serious in thinking that going to war "is not the last resort … it's the only resort." According to Moyes, diplomacy is futile.

This kind of "logic" has been responsible for many unnecessary wars, including the Spanish-American War, World War I, the Vietnam War and the current war in Iraq.

Moyes says that the main reason we are in Iraq "is not oil or WMD …it's terrorism and democracy." It "gave us and our allies the excuse (Moyes' word) to go in and do what we have been wanting to do … establish democracy in the out-of-control Middle East."

This is the line promoted by President Bush's neoconservative advisers and has led to the present quagmire in Iraq. According to this line of reasoning, we should follow the policy to its logical end by "establishing democracy" in Saudi Arabia and other countries. Aside from being immoral, this would tax our already overextended armed forces, require reinstating the draft, cost U.S. taxpayers hundreds of billions more dollars, ruin the U.S. economy and eliminate any remaining good will for the United States abroad.

I'll take negotiation over "pre-emptive" war any old time. Contrary to Moyes' beliefs, "negotiation" does not equal "sellout."

Frank Dennis
horticulture professor emeritus