To the editor:

The small minority of Americans pro-testing the war in Iraq are wrong.

First, the protests will not change the course of the war. The United States and other coalition members are already at war with Iraq, and have made it clear that the war effort will continue until the regime of Saddam Hussein is removed from power and the people of Iraq are liberated.

With polls showing the majority of Americans supporting President Bush in the war with Iraq, President Bush knows the war protesters are irrelevant; and you do not get re-elected by doing what the minority wants. Secondly, most protests have gone beyond simple freedom-of-speech rights; most protesters are participating in acts of “civil disobedience.”

To me, “civil disobedience” equates to encroaching on the personal property of others, blocking public roads and accesses, inconveniencing others, being a general public nuisance, and getting arrested to gain press coverage.

I do not know about you, but I lose all respect for anyone involved in activities where laws are obviously being broken, and arrests are the end result. There are many who do not support the war in Iraq, and yet do not support the guerrilla tactics of “civil disobedience.”

Lastly, while war protesters decry the amount of money being spent on the war in Iraq, what about the money being spent on police presence needed to both protect, and keep the war protesters in line? The war protesters are not only costing taxpayers a lot of money, but are distracting law enforcement from more legitimate security concerns.

Having said all this, my suggestion to U.S. war protesters is as follows: Go home, pray for a quick end to the war in Iraq and the safe return of our men and women of the armed forces. If all else fails, there is always the 2004 presidential election.

Richard George

Oakville