WHAT'S ALL OF THE FUSS?

The following has been attributed in email to Pam Foster. The truth is that it was written by Doug Patton, a freelance columnist and political speechwriter. It was published on the gopusa.com website in 2005. Ms. Foster forwarded it to her nephew serving in Iraq. Somehow, it became attributed to Ms. Foster.

Are we fighting a war on terror or aren't we? Was it or was it not started by Islamic people who brought it to our shores on September 11, 2001?

Were people from all over the world, mostly Americans, not brutally murdered that day, in downtown Manhattan, across the Potomac from our nation's capitol and in a field in Pennsylvania? Did nearly three thousand men, women and children die a horrible, burning or crushing death that day, or didn't they?

And I'm supposed to care that a copy of the Koran was "desecrated" when an overworked American soldier kicked it or got it wet? Well, I don't. I don't care at all.

I'll start caring when Osama bin Laden turns himself in and repents for incinerating all those innocent people on 9/11.

I'll care about the Koran when the fanatics in the Middle East start caring about the Holy Bible, the mere possession of which is a crime in Saudi Arabia.

I'll care when Abu Musab al-Zarqawi tells the world he is sorry for hacking off Nick Berg's head while Berg screamed through his gurgling, slashed throat.

I'll care when the cowardly so-called "insurgents" in Iraq come out and fight like men instead of disrespecting their own religion by hiding in mosques.

I'll care when the mindless zealots who blow themselves up in search of nirvana care about the innocent children within range of their suicide bombs.

I'll care when the American media stops pretending that their First Amendment liberties are somehow derived from international law instead of the United States Constitution's Bill of Rights.

In the meantime, when I hear a story about a brave Marine roughing up an Iraqi terrorist to obtain information, know this: I don't care.

When I see a fuzzy photo of a pile of naked Iraqi prisoners who have been humiliated in what amounts to a college hazing incident, rest assured that I don't care.

When I see a wounded terrorist get shot in the head when he is told not to move because he might be booby-trapped, you can take it to the bank that Idon't care.

When I hear that a prisoner, who was issued a Koran and a prayer mat, and fed "special" food that is paid for by my tax dollars, is complaining that his holy book is being "mishandled," You can absolutely believe in your heart of hearts that I don't care.

And oh, by the way, I've noticed that sometimes it's spelled "Koran" and other times "Quran."

Well, Jimmy Crack Corn and ---- you got it, I DON'T CARE!

The above represents my feelings to a great extent. I do care when the one right we all should be entitled to is taken lightly: the right to life. Some Islamic extremists have decided that because you and I don't worship the same way they do, we should die. I once thought I was as extreme in my faith as most others are, but maybe I'm not. I would never consider killing someone because they worship differently than I do.

I also believe in the right to dignity. What happened in Abu Gharib was wrong. Once upon a time, I would have thought it impossible that an American soldier would do such a thing. Then I remembered that American soldiers are human and subject to the same foibles that we all are subject to. Putting on a uniform that says "Army", "Marines", "Navy", Air Force", or "Coast Guard" does not automatically give these young men and women morality or common sense. What they did was wrong and they should be punished for it.

There's more, but that's enough for now.