After more than 3,000 American and countless Iraqi casualties, the American people are unlikely to believe Mr. Bush again. They know that instead of bringing democracy, the US occupation of Iraq has only widened the Shia-Sunni sectarian divide, and by allowing Al Maliki government to hang Saddam Hussein after a largely show trial, the Bush administration has lost the trust of Iraq's once-dominant Sunni minority.

Now a game of deception seems to be going on. Iraq's Shiite Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki is trying to fool Mr. Bush into believing that he can protect the Sunnis by reining in the Shiite militias who are, in fact, his major backers. President Bush is trying to fool the American people into believing that with additional US troops, Mr. Maliki will be able to stop the Shiite militias from killing the Sunnis. The most likely outcome of the arrival of 20,000 more US troops will be more American and Iraqi casualties.

In this seemingly endless sectarian bloodletting in Iraq, it may be interesting to take a look how Mahatma Gandhi brought an end to Hindu-Muslim bloodletting before India's independence from Britain in 1947. The issue was partition of India into two states on the basis of religion -- India and Pakistan. The Hindus were adamantly opposed to the partition of what they called "Mother India" and the Muslims were equally determined to achieve Pakistan. The result was a communal bloodbath in which thousands perished. The British had a large Indian army at its disposal, but it was deeply divided on Hindu, Muslim and Sikh religious lines. As such, the British were (correctly) wary to use these troops to stop the communal violence.

Mahatma Gandhi, who led India in the non-violent struggle for independence, stopped the Hindu-Muslim bloodbath by reluctantly agreeing to the partition and by going on a hunger strike to death unless the killings stopped. This had an electrifying effect on both Hindus and Muslims and the killings stopped. Although Gandhi was later assassinated by a Hindu extremist who thought he was too partial to the Muslims, he had shown the world how to face even extreme violence non-violently. In this bloody sectarian conflict, Iraq doesn't need more American troops, but its own Gandhi who can reach out across the sectarian divide and bring real peace. Can Mr. Bush or Mr. Maliki go on a hunger strike to end the Shia-Sunni bloodletting? The world is waiting.

The US did it again! They ruthlessly bombed another sovereign country: Somalia. It was predicted that today or tomorrow the US & its allies, especially Israel, would attack every Muslim nation one by one. In the American air strike in Somalia, which some say killed as many as 10 suspected terrorists, innocent civilians were the victims. It marked a new, open military foray by the United States into a part of the world that has been a chief concern in the war on terror. This was absolutely an outrageous act by the US government.

They do not have any right to attack an independent nation. What would have been the reaction if today Iran attacked Israel? It seems the US does not care anyone. They can attack anyone, anywhere whenever they want to. The US is violating all international laws. In order to demolish the terrorists they themselves are committing terrorist activities. It is the US government, which is the main terrorist. They do not respect any nation & they intentionally cause panic & problems among different nations & then attack those places on lame excuses. Their main objective is to have a military base in all Muslim countries. No one gave them the right to attack Somalia. How would the US feel if any nation attacks their country & kills innocent people? The US must pay for its crimes. We should declare a global war against terrorism i.e. against the US.
Minhaj Ahmed, Uttara, Dhaka