What's to all of these claims linking Middle Eastern men to Timothy McVeigh and the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing? I've been a newspaper writer more than 20 years and find the possible connection compelling, even if the federal government hasn't caught on yet. Have I lost it? Am I sun-stroked?

 Absolutely not, say people from Indiana and across the country. Here's a sample of some of the comments sent to me responding to recent columns on the subject.

 "I too have harbored a gut feeling or suspicion that McVeigh was a dupe or pawn, either knowingly or unknowingly in a larger plot," Gregg Black wrote on Sept. 23. "He went to his grave not revealing a lot of what he knew. So many questions left unanswered and it could possibly have a link with the latest atrocities we have seen or may experience ourselves."

 Tom Hallett of Monrovia was perturbed that the "mainstream" press has ignored the evidence. "I really enjoyed your piece of Sept. 22" ("Author links Iraqi to Oklahoma bombing"), he said. "We haven't heard much about Oklahoma City for a long time. As you say, there is much evidence that Tim McVeigh didn't act alone and that there was a foreign angle."

 Virginia Jones of Indianapolis chimed in, "I e-mailed your article to William Safire of the New York Times . He also has an article on the connection of Iraq to terrorism. Sounds like a cover-up to me, something that Reno and Clinton didn't want to face."

 Elbert L. Watson added, "It has never made sense to me that a young hothead like McVeigh could have pulled off that dastardly act all alone. Thanks again for handling a timely topic that helps us think for a change."

 Mike Ruggiero of Indianapolis wrote, "I am in awe over the last two articles you have written on the Sept. 11 event. You have a great handle on this and are giving people information they cannot get anywhere else."

 Bunny Chambers of Oklahoma City: "Thanks again for 'The impeachment lawyer smells a rat' story" (Oct. 13). Hopefully, someone will listen, and more terrorist acts will be prevented! Most Oklahomans believe many others were involved with McVeigh."

 Miami lawyer Jack Thompson: "If you recall, former Attorney General Jane Reno's boss, President Clinton, blamed the bombing in Oklahoma City on 'right-wing talk radio hosts.' Any evidence that there was a Middle Eastern terrorist involvement would imperil that political agenda, wouldn't it?"

 Butch Vanetta of Indianapolis: "Are there any reasons given to (former impeachment lead attorney David) Schippers as to why he is not being listened to on this? Why are you seemingly the only one I know who is following this? I appreciate your articles, and keep hammering this."

 On Nov. 26, Harold Piggott wrote, "I visited my daughter in Indianapolis several weeks ago and read your commentary about the former FBI Agent, Dan Vogel. I do not understand why they will not let Mr. Vogel testify that he had received affidavits from people in Oklahoma that they saw Timothy McVeigh with other men in the weeks leading up to the Oklahoma City bombing. It makes a person wonder what they are trying to hide."

 That is what readers say, but what does the FBI say? What does the bureau say about the 22 affidavits and more than 30 witness' statements former TV reporter Jayna Davis turned over to Vogel that Vogel never saw again, according to court records?

 "Nothing," Special Agent Danny Defenbaugh of Dallas, who headed up the Oklahoma bombing investigation, said Thursday. "I've been told that I can't talk about this until the Justice Department finishes reviewing what happened to the 3,000 documents that resurfaced just before McVeigh's scheduled execution."

 Mum's the word, huh? What about the latest bombshell from Davis that one of the affidavit authors recognized terrorist suspect Khalid Shaikh Mohammed as someone who was in Oklahoma City before it was bombed? Mohammed is among the 22 fugitives on the FBI's Most Wanted List President Bush announced Oct. 10. 

"Sure, if she has any information on the current (World Trade Center) investigation, we would want that," Oklahoma FBI Agent Gary Johnson said Thursday. We shall see.