Did we get too political?

• Author: Congdon, Douglas
• Position: From Readers - Letter to the Editor

The "Note From a Worldwatcher" in the July/August issue, "Weapons of Mass Distraction" (no author identified, so I assume it's an editorial) continues the politicization of a magazine for which my respect is fading. Soon I'll be throwing your solicitation letters in the trash along with all the others from the pit-bull environmental groups whose names we all know. There's a place for their polemics, of course--the political arena demands a lot of it in order to win, But what you sacrifice in doing so is balance, the virtue that keeps me reading World Watch from cover to cover.

As with most who argue against the recent war in Iraq, you focus solely on America and make no mention of the unspeakable evil of Saddam Hussein and his Baath Party rule. Surely you, who depend on the power of ideas and a free press, can find some room to register your disgust and horror at the system of government in Iraq that America recently ended. You must know, even if you won't admit it, that democracy is the best protection against environmental disaster. Disasters and mistakes still occur, of course, but a free press and political system eventually take note and begin corrective action (e.g., Love Canal and the Superfund law).

I am no fan of preemptive wars, nor am I an apologist for the Bush Administration. It is too close to the industry and too far from the environmental policies that I think we need. But its policy in Iraq was right for several reasons, not the least of which is the environment. The environment? Am I mad? No, because we ended the rule of a man whose utter disdain for the environment was obvious and whose oil billions gave him the where withal to do more damage. Saddam diverted water from the southern marshlands in Iraq, torched the oil fields of Kuwait, and used weapons of mass destruction (WMD) against his own people. His only motivations were revenge and homing onto power.

I think your argument is more about the means used by the Bush Administration to sell the idea of regime change. I share your view that a lie repeated often enough can become the accepted truth. George Orwell is one of my heroes. But I think, on balance, the threat of WMD was there, even if not the clear and present danger the administration may...