The United States has not had a picture perfect past; however, as citizens, we have the power to elect leaders that can bring about change.

Although sometimes slow coming, these changes have helped to shape us into a better America.

Saddam Hussein, on the other hand, has been president of Iraq since 1979 and shows no sign of relinquishing control.

Let us not forget Saddam Hussein's suppression of the Kurd people living in northern Iraq, including the March 1998 poison gas attack in Halabja, Iraq, in which an estimated 5,000 Kurds were killed. Let us not forget Saddam Hussein's August 1990 invasion of Kuwait.

The recent air strikes on Iraqi radar installations have sparked controversy. President Bush has stated that the strikes were ordered to protect our troops. The recent USS Cole bombing shows us that we are susceptible to attacks. The radar locks on our and our allies' aircrafts enforcing the no-fly zone must be viewed as a threat to our pilots' lives. During my six years of active duty in the Navy, I had been on two six-month deployments.

The majority of that time was spent in the Persian Gulf off the coast of Iraq and in the Adriatic Sea off the coast of Bosnia.

I am thankful to the government for attaining the highest possible level of safety for my shipmates and myself in potentially dangerous regions of the world.

I would rather have our troops in the Middle East and protect them than have Saddam Hussein repeat his heinous past.