Joe Carey's recent column about the Bush administration ("Bush administration's use of fear, misinformation has rest of world on alert," Jan. 28) is void of understanding and factually incorrect on so many levels. However, since brevity is the key to wit, let me simply address one of his many incorrect and uninformed assertions.

Carey's statement that the United States "has and continues to support brutal regimes around the world when it suits our corporate interest" is, sadly, partially true. However, he obviously fails to realize that the Bush administration is slowly shifting away from what, admittedly, has been shameful conduct by former administrations, Democrat and Republican alike. President Bush's foreign policy is aimed at ending our support of dictators and instead promotes democracy and freedom. It's a move that can't be accomplished overnight. However, ending Saddam Hussein's reign and creating an oasis of freedom in the epicenter of one of the most oppressed regions of the world is certainly a good start. So is beginning to pull away from the house of Saud.

We are dramatically reducing our troop levels in Saudi Arabia, in an effort to eliminate the leverage the Saudi's hold over the United States. We are supporting the democratic movement by millions of Iranian citizens wishing to shed the oppression of the current regime. We are working to find a diplomatic and multilateral end to the brutal dictatorship in North Korea. No, it's not quite business as usual for the dictators of the world any longer.

And while good people can certainly disagree, to think that the current administration poses the greatest threat to world stability, sovereignty and peace is a world view simply not supported by the facts.