Your article \British MP Galloway criticizes U.S. involvement in Iraq, draws small protest"" about British MP George Galloway's recent appearance in Madison omitted important information about him. For starters, Galloway was expelled from the Labour Party for supporting Saddam Hussein (The Forward, April 29, 2005). He was for many years an open and enthusiastic supporter of Hussein and his Baathist dictatorship, not just an opponent of military action against them. Unlike other members of the Labour Party who opposed the Iraq war, Galloway publicly called for British troops to disobey orders and for other Middle Eastern countries to join the fight against them. Now Galloway's Respect Party openly and explicitly supports the fascists and theocrats who make up the ""Iraqi resistance,"" despite the terrorist murders of Iraqi and foreign civilians they continue to perpetrate. Following the recent terrorist bombings in London, Galloway recommended that the British government respond by capitulating to the terrorists' demands and abandoning the Iraqi democrats and women's rights advocates who are struggling against all odds to build a free, pluralist and democratic Iraq.
Finally, it is worth noting that Galloway's Respect Party does not merely oppose Israeli policies, but openly and explicitly opposes Zionism as a political movement. While advocating ""national self-determination"" for Iraqis, Palestinians, Kurds and Kashmiris, the Respect Party pointedly declines to support national self-determination for Jews. Galloway and his Party have also advocated collective punishment of Israeli citizens (Arab as well as Jewish) by calling for a boycott of Israeli goods and services, of tourism to Israel, and of academic, sporting and cultural links with Israeli bodies. At times, this animus against Israel has shaded into outright anti-Semitism. After Galloway won his seat in parliament by unseating Oona King, a black-Jewish member of the Labour Party and a critic of Israeli policy, King revealed to the Evening Standard: ""I have been told by several people that members of Respect have told them not to vote for me because I am Jewish"" (The Forward, July 1, 2005).
Madison's antiwar left-including Galloway's sponsors, the Capital Times and the Teaching Assistants Association-are mistaken if they think Galloway is a kindred spirit. Galloway is no leftist. If anything, his words and deeds constitute a betrayal of the left's most cherished values.
As a Republican, I usually disagree vehemently with most columns in the opinion page of The Daily Cardinal. Jake Herrera's ""Keep penguins out of values debate"" bothered me so much that I had to write in. I don't care if I happen to disagree with an opinion article, but it should at least be well-written and cover an important topic relevant to Americans today. If the author wanted to make a point against conservative Christian morals, he could have talked about the gay marriage veto in California, the Supreme Court nomination, or some other important event that shapes the world in which we live. I saw this article as nothing but a clumsy and backhanded attack on conservatives. Herrera is making fun of people for having an opinion different than his own. It is sad that this student newspaper would allow a majority of the opinion page to be polluted by such a useless article. I would really appreciate it if future opinion columnist had interesting points of view, intelligent arguments, or maybe even a conservative point of view.
