Some letters

Letters That Never Got Published

04/11/06 to Washington Post

In 'Military Plays Up Role of Zarqawi' the following claim is made: "official evidence of a propaganda operation using an American reporter is rare." If one just considers "official evidence" then perhaps it is rare. But if one still thinks and is informed, then there is abundant evidence of US authorites trying out propaganda operations on the US media. And they are generally successful, since our "watchdog" media is anything but.

04/13/06 to Christian Science Monitor

In the story "Bush had good reason to believe there were WMD in Iraq" the author overlooks some very obvious facts. One is, Saddam went on TV and proclaimed that there were no WMDs in Iraq in early 2003. The second obvious fact is that UN weapons inspectors were running around Iraq for months and could not find a thing. Less obvious facts include what Powell and Rice had to say about the threat from Iraq in early 2001, and the fact that Powell's presentation at the UN did not convince anyone other than US TV "news" viewers of Saddam's supposed WMDs. It was very obvious to me that Powell's case was circumstantial. I don't think it is Mr. Bush who is gullible; I think it is Mr. Hughes. I figured out that Iraq had no nuclear WMDs in 2002. Either Mr. Bush was lying (and still is) or he is stupid. "Gullible" just does not cut it. And it is time we stop pretending otherwise.

04/01/06 to The Tribune

Please pass this on to Ted Dyer. He seems to think that US troops are not killing anyone in Iraq.

Local Story: U.S. solider had shot and killed Fadhil’s 81-year-old uncle, Saadi Al-Tahi, as he drove through an intersection in Mosul, Iraq.

Local Story: Residents say US Marines killed 15 members of two innocent families.

Local Story: Remembering Professor Salah Jmor of uncommon grace, dignity and style. “On the day he turned 49, he arrived in Baghdad for a family visit. One day later on the 28th of June 2005 he was killed by the invading American troops in Baghdad.”

Local Story: Iraqi girl tells how seven members of her family were killed.

I think there are four facts we can agree on: 1) Prior to the US government and US military arriving in Iraq, the Iraqi-on-Iraqi violence was SIGNIFICANTLY less. 2) The situation is getting worse every month that passes. 3) There are no indicators showing improvement in Iraq beyond freedom of speech, which is no longer outlawed, but can still get you killed. 4) Predicting the future is speculation.

Now, Mr. Dyer is convinced that if the US troops leave Iraq now, the violence will get worse. Interesting, the major of Iraqi people want the US troops to leave, and they are much more knowledgeable about the situation than any American. I also speculate that things will get more violent when US troops leave, but I also think that peace and stability will not return until some time after the US troops leave. I believe that this will never happen while there are US troops in Iraq. Please keep in mind that most stories of US-on-Iraqi violence are not reported. US troops who have returned have many stories. The US has to leave Iraq one day, the only question is how long this killing will go on before they do so. My speculation is it will go on for a long time, and the longer it goes on the worse the violence will be when the US forces leave, just like in Vietnam/Cambodia.


05/04/06 to Washington Post again

Mr. Broder says in his op-ed piece: "At a time when most people see nothing but hopeless discord in Iraq, it is healthy to have someone offering alternatives that could produce progress." Or perhaps the USA could stop trying to run other people's countries and focus on running our own better, so that we don't see a repeat of the Katrina aftermath on our TV screens again. I would think that one example alone would convince even the most dense among us that the USA is not running it's internal affairs very well at all. As to what to do about Iraq.... seems to me that is an Iraqi decision. However, if some Senators here in the USA insist on making it their decision, then perhaps they could hold a "think tank" to offer them direction. They could round up those 10 million Americans who protested the war in February 2003 and ask them what they think should be done. After all, they are the only group that showed some real wisdom in this debacle.