Mr. Mataka's letter on March 26, "War protesters undermine actions overseas," attempts to say that protesting wars in the United States did not occur in the 19th century. He states "The Civil War alone cost the U.S. more than 900,000 lives...these wars were never protested." If that's true then why were there draft riots in the summer of 1863 in New York City? Why did men from the North flee to Canada? So, according to Mr. Mataka, neither of these acts were protests? He uses World War II and the Civil War in his argument against protesting the war in Iraq as if no other war existed in the United States history. What about the Tories who left the country during our Revolutionary War or presidential candidate Eugene Debs going to jail for giving speeches against World War I or even the enormous protests surrounding the Vietnam era? He seems to be using certain facts -- though the facts about the Civil War were false -- to fit his argument. If Mr. Mataka is going to make a valid argument I suggest he review his U.S. history.