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Hi... I read this in the morning's newspaper and I'm passing it along to you. I'm shortening names of local residents and sometimes highlighting statements people have made. L.
Santa Fe New Mexican Newspaper
Constituents tell Rep. Tom Udall the United States should examine the root causes of terrorism and avoid resorting to military force in response to attacks (italicized by L)
The opinions of many Santa Fe area residents at U.S. Rep. Tom Udall s town meeting Friday contrasted starkly with those of other Americans.
While seven of 10 people nationwide favor a military response to the Sept. 11 terrorism, according to a Washington Post poll, most at Friday s meeting with Udall said military action would only increase terrorism.
"Bomb them with butter," said one speaker. Send them radios so they can hear views from other nations.
A poll by the Washington Post released Friday found a broad willingness to forgo civil liberties to help authorities combat terrorism. Large majorities favored increased wiretapping, surveillance of voice mail and email and admitting foreign-intelligence evidence that normally would not be allowed in court.
The Post poll of 1,215 adults found that 9 of 10 Americans back President Bush s policies. A smaller but significant majority favored overthrowing the Taiban government in Afghanistan. Many also supported military intervention in other countries, such as Iraq. But many speakers Friday urged restraint.
***William C., who identified himself as a retired CIA analyst, said the U.S. government should be looking at the root causes of terrorism, rather than considering a "Green Beret-type response." ***
Peggy F. said a military response would please those who wage jihad.
"This is their bag, dying for their cause," she said.
Debra O. said the United States sells weapons to Middle Eastern countries while refusing to sign treaties limiting chemical and biological weapons.
"The School of the Americans taught and trained the Taliban," she said.
Naomi W. said that any congressman who votes for war with Afghanistan should "commit to having at least one family member out on the battlefield."
***Debbe B. urged Udall to promote the use of solar, wind and other alternative energy to help the country to be less dependent on oil. Louse B. called for attention to the plight of the Palestinians, instead of unilateral support of Israel. ***
Greg M. of the Los Alamos Study Group called for the United States to eliminate its weapons of mass destruction.
"If you look at the causes and ways in which terrorism works, one of the very few things we can actually affect is people s perception of us," he said. "If we actually do things that will help people, we can undercut that hatred."
***Taj D. said that after growing up in postwar Germany, she knows firsthand what it s like to live without civil liberties. She urged Udall not to let those rights be eroded during this period of heightened national security.***
"We don t have to give up our civil liberties to fight terrorism," Udall responded. "I think you are going to see leveler heads prevail as we move through this whole process."
Carlos P. told Udall on Friday that he has flown a U.S. flag since his first experience with combat on Dec. 13, 1942, when it was clear who the enemy was.
"Now, we have to be very careful who the enemy really is," he said. "The enemy could me me."
A woman who said she was in New York City on Sept. 11 urged Udall to visit the city soon to see the shrines to those who died in the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center.
"The prayers are for peace, not for retribution," she said. "We are the most threatening force on this planet right now."
**Sol H. said the United States support of dictatiors such as the shah of Iran creates revolution.**
**"This is the cause of their animosity and their hatred," he said. "The only legitimate opposition that has been able to survivie is in the clergy. We have created a radical Islam. It s time to change our foreign policy."**
Sister Penelope M. of the Sisters of Loretto said that the nations of the world should capture the suspects and give them a fair trial in the international criminal court. **"We are more secure when people do not hate us."**
Chris M. said that added military appropriations on the heels of the recent tragedy are the worst kind of Pork and would assure that in the future we ll get to lose all of New York, not just a few buildings.
Udall said, "Many of our foreign-policy efforts in the past have not paid off. It s like this tangled web that we ve woven as a country around the world and many of those kinds of things are coming back and haunting us today."
http://www.sfnewmexican.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=2428246&BRD=2144&PAG=461&dept_id=367954&rfi=6