November 26, 2003

Editor:

It was my privilege to travel in England, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and France this past summer. Without giving due thought to the matter, I wore cowboy boots and a white, ten-gallon western hat, thus projecting somewhat of a "Texan image."

The hat and boots turned out to be "magnets" for people who wanted to offer their opinions about President Bush and the Iraq war. Not one person had anything good to say about our president or about the invasion of Iraq. Not one! Dozens came up to me and reviled President Bush and railed against the invasion of Iraq.

In a couple of instances, in Great Britain, I was "roughed up" by rowdy and obviously inebriated young men who wanted to stomp on the cowboy hat. In both cases, only physical restraint by their burly, sober, peace-loving, and circumspect buddies prevented me from inflicting "grievous bodily harm" on my besotted accosters. Once, the white hat got a bit of "gutter dirt" on it, which was quickly brushed off by one of the peacemakers.

While this is the personal experience of only one American abroad, it does reflect the dramatic change in attitudes toward the United States since the tremendous outpouring of sympathy and unity following 9/11. It shows how the unity of the coalition of nations aligned against terrorism and al-Qaeda was seriously compromised by the invasion of Iraq.

The cowardly 9/11-attack demanded a significant, sustained, and effective response, one by all peace-loving nations and peoples. It did not require the unilateral invasion of Iraq, the weakening of the United Nations, and the attempted demeaning of some of our most valued and powerful Allies, such as Germany and France.

Sincerely,

Hal Mansfield, 1138 C. R. 302, Durango, CO 81303-8050

Phone: 970.259.1324 E-mail: mansfield_h@fortlewis.edu