One point that struck me in Dan Hutchins’ Aug. 22 letter was the line “they want us to win, don’t they?”

But this war isn’t about winning or losing. It’s about eradication. And of what? Of who?

The main focus has shifted. The “them” has changed so much from what is was almost six years ago. The other side of this war has become Iraq, the scapegoat. It seems to no longer matter that the reason a preemptive strike was launched was because of weapons of mass destruction that may or may not have existed. What matters is that vengeance is exacted. On who? And for what?

Iraq didn’t hijack four airplanes. Al Qaeda did. The mastermind behind that plot is still roaming the caves of Afghanistan.

Saddam Hussein was a horrible person. That is undeniable. He should pay for the crimes he has committed against the people of his own country. But turning his country into a battleground in the war on terror is not the way to make him pay.

Has the constant three-and-half-year war that’s ravaging Iraq hurt him? No. It’s hurting the people of Iraq who have to live with it, day in and day out, in constant fear for their own lives in the raging civil war that has ensued.

This war is snowballing, getting bigger and bigger, and more out of control every day. The scariest part is that the bottom of the hill is still miles away.

Alison Dube, Canton