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and Palestine are going factor largely in future Middle East peace negotiations. I was disappointed that I did not hear him mention Israel or the continued hostilities in Palestine, Lebanon, and the Middle East during his speech. I am not a fan of terrorists or the killing of anybody, especially innocent children and citizens of any country, but it is very nave of Goliath to think that oppressed people will not throw stones.

As I have written previously regarding President Bush's planned "surge" in Iraq to send in nearly 22,000 additional troops in to secure Baghdad and the region, I feel his plan is not only gravely misguided, but doomed to failure as well. By adding additional troops he is adding explosives to a powder keg that is already on fire. I agree that we need to assist the Iraqis, but the time for more troops and support was in the beginning of this conflict. To send in 20,000+ now will not increase the over-all effectiveness and outcome of this war, and will only cause more anger and outrage at the U.S. from other countries in the Middle East and the Islamic world. President Bush says that the violence in Iraq threatens to spill over into neighboring countries and I wholeheartedly agree. However, what he is proposing to do will only perpetuate that violence and extend the conflict when we need to be doing is moving in the opposite direction and towards international diplomatic summit meetings and a peaceful resolution of all hostilities.

I am quite sure that the destruction of a shrine as sacred as The Golden Mosque of Samarra was felt to be an abomination by nearly all but a handful of mad-dog extremists throughout the entire Islamic world. We want and need these people as our allies, not our enemies. But by increasing the number of U.S. military forces in Iraq, neighboring countries are made to feel threatened and Muslims left to question the sincerity of our government's commitment to a just and lasting peace in the region. And it does nothing to hasten the progress of our U.S. soldiers coming home.

Learn more about this author, Yvonne Richman.
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