Kumbaya

Letter to the San Francisco Chronicle:

Editor -- I'm wondering what would happen if the United States redeployed all the Iraqi-based troops to Asia to assist in attempts to find and identify victims, to help staff hospitals and clean the water to prevent diseases, to help in the cleanup and rebuilding efforts.

I wonder what Iraq would do if the world spotlight was moved to Asia and Iraq was no longer front-page news. I wonder if Osama bin Laden thinks he is bigger news than the tens of thousands of victims of one of nature's largest disasters.

I wonder if the morale of our servicemen and servicewomen and their families would be brought to new heights by knowing they were helping to alleviate some of the pain from a disaster of devastating proportions.

Here is a chance for the world to unite and for politics to be set aside in order to help a part of the world torn apart by this tragedy.

SHIRLEY KROHN
Walnut Creek