I am writing in response to the editorial, “SA’s efforts are admirable,” in the Feb. 18 issue.

I agree the SA is to be applauded for their efforts to demonstrate that the students of NIU have not forgotten the soldiers President Bush has sent into the Persian Gulf War.

However, by “working hard to keep any anti-war sentiment out of the project,” their efforts must be interpreted as expressing support for the policies of Bush.

With each passing day, it becomes more obvious that our president will not be satisfied until Hussein is dead, Iraq lies in ruins and the United States establishes control of the Mideast oil fields.

To attain these goals, Bush will not hesitate to go well beyond the much-touted U.N. resolutions. It also is clear that the imperialistic aims of our government cannot be realized without a prolonged ground assault of the Iraqi armies.

The best way to “support” our soldiers is to prevent this from happening by agreeing to a cease-fire before the ground assault begins.

So let the flags wave, but don’t let us be so blinded by our patriotism that we fail to see the path toward peace. We are in this together; we can stop this war before any more people are killed.

Together we set about the task of stopping the likes of Hussein and Bush before more troops are sent to their death. Together we can restore the meaning to the flag that waves over our land.

Dave Okar

Graduate Student

Chemistry