Jim, I have little knowledge about the conspiracy you seem to be suggesting. But I do believe that the President sincerely wanted to liberate an oppressed people. And to this point, it seems like that is what has happened. My father just yesterday sent me an article from his Phoenix paper, The Arizona Republic. It is an interview with Hal Holbrook. Holbrook captures my own sentiments and to some extent, I believe, Twain's. Jounalist Kyle Lawson asks Holbrook to speculate on what position Twain might take on the current war if he were alive. Holbrook notes that "Twain hated war" and saw it as a "failure of other pursuits." "But he also despised brutality and tyranny," as Holbrook puts it, " and the "inhumane behavior that Saddam Hussein has exhibited throughout his reign. He would hate this despot, just as he would have hated Hitler." Holbrook explains that "given the humanitarian feelings that can be found in all his work, how could he be against going over to knock that man out?" Holbrook goes on to note that America has become soft and many are no longer willing to stand up for the "idealism this country has lived by." The President is an exception here, as Holbrok sees him. Holbrook concludes by saying that he does not always "agree with President Bush" but admires his courage. The President has the "courage to take a stand come hell or high water. That 's a rare thing in politics and I do admire him for it. In some ways, it makes him a lit like Mark Twain." And in some ways, I believe Twain would have admired the President's courage. Jason G. Horn Associate Professor of English Division of Humanities Gordon College Barnesville, Georgia 30204