(Submitted in response to Walter Russell Mead’s March 12, 2003 Washington Post editorial “Deadlier Than War”)

Letters to the Editor

The Washington Post

1150 15^th Street NW

Washington, DC 20071

March 12, 2003

Dear Editor,

Walter Russell Mead’s March 12, 2003 editorial “Deadlier Than War” is one of the most irresponsible works of journalism I have ever read. In it, Mead argues that “the link [between Saddam Hussein and the events of Sept. 11] is clear and direct…Iraqi defiance forced the United States to stay [in Saudi Arabia], and one consequence was dire and direct. Osama bin Laden founded al Qaeda because U.S. forces stayed in Saudi Arabia…it is clear and compelling. No Iraqi violations, no Sept. 11.”

By using this “clear and compelling” logic, the U.S Constitution led to a federal government. The federal government amended the Constitution and the Sixteenth Amendment provided for the collection of income tax. This had the “dire and direct” consequence of the creation anti-government militias. These militias resulted in Timothy McVeigh and the Oklahoma City bombing. No Constitution, no Oklahoma City bombing.

Should we now rip the Constitution to shreds in the name of “homeland security?”

Milton Alan Turner