A possible citation is inadequate for so much disruption

Two hours of mayhem, detours, fear, lost productivity and general disruption all caused by the fact that Richard Wills uses a pellet rifle to rid his Downtown Pittsburgh workplace of pigeons ("Paralyzed by Pigeons: Security Forces Put Clamps on Downtown After Reports Pour in About a Sniper Who Turned Out to Be a Pigeon Shooter," March 23).

I was surprised to learn that police spokeswoman Tammy Ewin said it was unlikely the man would be arrested and the only charge likely to stem from the incident could be a citation if it were determined he fired the gun illegally inside the city limits.

Mr. Wills' employer, Pittsburgh Allegheny County Thermal President Robert Fazio, said Mr. Wills has worked single-handedly for several years to eradicate the plant's pigeon problem after poison and plastic owls proved unsuccessful. I believe his comment, along with the fact that Mr. Wills keeps a gun at work, is proof enough that he does regularly discharge his gun within city limits.

In hindsight, it seems like a lot of to-do about nothing, but I applaud the efforts of the Pittsburgh police for their response. Had this been a real sniper, and their response was not so extensive, the city would never hear the end of it ... especially if lives were lost. Fortunately that wasn't the case. Should Mr. Wills be allowed to return to his home in Fayette County scot-free -- but at cost to the city? No harm, so no problem? I don't think so.

PATRICIA A. MULLEN
Carrick

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Unfair criticism

Regarding the Turkish cultural center ("Turkish Cultural Center Plan Dies," March 15): Enough bashing the residents of South Park. The population of South Park is close to 15,000 people. There were 40 people in attendance at the planning commission meeting regarding the cultural center, all of whom did not speak out against the center. By categorizing all South Park residents as racist against Muslims, people are doing the same thing that they accuse South Park of, judging a group of people according to the actions of a few.

Having built a home in South Park and having been a lifelong resident here, I have experience with the planning commission and code enforcement office. They are very strict and go by the letter of the ordinances for all buildings, private homes included.

I do not feel that they were making it any more difficult for the Turkish group than for any other business or resident applying for permits. Just ask anyone who has tried to build in the township. The group decided on its own not to go forward with its plans; it was not "run out of town." I feel that it is time for someone to stand up for the other 14,960 residents of a great place to live.

AUDREY GALLAGHER
South Park

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Our mistakes, too?

On Tuesday, President Bush said U.S. troops will still be in Iraq in January 2009 when he leaves office ("President Admits Troops Will Stay Past His Presidency," March 22). This will make this war at least two years longer than our involvement in World War II. In "Warfare and Civilization," an introductory essay to Thucydides' "The Peloponnesian War" (Bantam Books, 1963), the historian Hanson Baldwin wrote:

"This, indeed, was the greatest lesson of the Peloponnesian War -- a lesson (as World War II showed) -- that the world has not yet learned: that the goal of any war must be politically and carefully defined; that it must be finite, not infinite; and that the means (the strength available) must be capable of attaining the ends desired. Without such limitations, without clear-cut goals, war represents senseless slaughter. This was, perhaps, the greatest tragedy of the internecine warfare of the ancient Greeks; the Peloponnesian War had no clearly defined objectives for either side. It was, in a sense, the first world war, since it embraced most of the ancient world, but it was a war with no sharply focused purpose ... Dr. Reinhold Niebuhr, scholar and theologian, has written that 'if the democratic nations fail, their failure must be partly attributed to the faulty strategy of idealists who have too many illusions when they face realists who have too little conscience.' "

Is the United States making the same mistakes? Is there still time to change course?

VINCENT F. LACKNER SR.
Sheraden

Editor's note: The writer is professor of philosophy emeritus at California University of Pennsylvania.

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Thankful Iraqis

It is common for Americans to speculate regarding the fate of the Iraqi people, as Dick Marshall did in his March 9 letter, "Is This Progress?" Rather than simply "wonder if the people of Iraq were better off before we 'liberated' them," perhaps Mr. Marshall should actually investigate this issue and see if there is any data from the Iraqi people themselves to answer his query.

Now, if I were looking for information regarding this question, I would turn to my own brother, who recently returned from Iraq after honorably serving two tours in the U.S. Marine Corps. He has described a thankfulness and appreciation for American intervention that was expressed by the overwhelming majority of Iraqis whom he encountered. But I recognize that not every person might have a family member with this sort of perspective. I would therefore recommend that Mr. Marshall use the Internet instead. I found many articles on the topic when I "Googled" it.

Personally, it terrifies me that people can believe the things that Mr. Marshall wrote. Seventy years ago, people were impressed that Adolf Hitler made the trains run on time, despite the killings and genocide. I am long beyond anger/frustration and can only gasp in horror as the lessons that history has taught us are so quickly forgotten.

DAVID BARKOVICH
Ross

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Proud of this?

Regarding National Guard Sgt. Chris Arndt's statement that was prominently displayed on the March 20 front page ("Voices From the War"), I find it curious that Sgt. Arndt considers himself a "better citizen of the world" by being part of an invading and occupying army involved in an illegal war with no rational justification save control of the world's second-largest cache of oil reserves.

Curiouser still is Sgt. Arndt's pride in being part of a military force directly responsible (along with the Iraqi insurgency) for the deaths of 100,000 or more Iraqi civilians (according to a report by researchers at Johns Hopkins University). Other casualty estimates that include indirect effects of the conflict place the casualty figures at nearly a half million people.

I wonder if Sgt. Arndt takes pride at being part of an occupying force that routinely jails innocent civilians for months and years without end and has redefined the concept of torture to the point of where "if you don't kill 'em, it ain't torture," courtesy of Alberto Gonzales. Does Sgt. Arndt condone the atmosphere of super-belligerent nationalism that has poisoned our country's foreign policy since the Sept. 11 attacks, as the United States has christened itself judge, jury and executioner in the prosecution of the so-called "war on terror"?

I think it is beyond pathetic that the Post-Gazette, in the face of an unpopular and unsuccessful pre-emptive war, chooses to play the "Support Our Troops" card in the most jingoistic fashion possible.

ROBERT M. GOETZ
Wilkinsburg

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Others' basic needs

In response to "Rendell Offers to Fund IB Program at Upper St. Clair" (March 23): Although I can appreciate the value of a challenging curriculum, having two children who had Advanced Placement courses to help them prepare for college, for Gov. Ed Rendell to pledge state money to Upper St. Clair so it can offer both International Baccalaureate and AP courses is unfair.

With our state having a lot of smaller districts that have fewer financial resources and that have to make tough decisions with programs they feel help them in basic education, will Gov. Rendell step up and pledge for them also? Or is it just "money goes to money"

JAMES T. PRENTICE
Penn Hills

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I see signs of great hope for the future

A friend of mine recently remarked that when he was young, he felt that he always needed to please his parents. Now that he's a parent, he feels that he is constantly expected to please his kids. Patricia Dalton's dead-on Midweek Perspectives piece ("The 'Don't Blame Me' Generation," March 15) is a telling illustration of the consequences of this phenomenon.

Especially astute is Ms. Dalton's observation that our job as parents is to love our children, not to worship them, and that by overfeeding their self-esteem and not holding them accountable for their mistakes, parents are not adequately preparing their children to cope with future problems and are adversely affecting their ability to empathize with others.

How encouraging it was, therefore, to read the letter the following day from 14-year-old Brittany Ketter of South Fayette ("Help for Haiti," March 16) detailing the plight of the children of Haiti and imploring others to do what they can to help them. Brittany's insight and conviction are a wonderful reminder that, despite the excess in our society, there is great hope for the next generation.

Brittany's parents should be proud that they are raising a daughter with such a caring heart.

CATHY KING
Upper St. Clair

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