Letters to the Editor about Jeff Jacoby's Web exclusive column
Is Jeff Jacoby so out of touch with reality that he buys this drivel that the Bush Administration is doling out? Does he actually believe that this torture at Abu Garib was limited to a few soldiers? An articulate and sophisticated writer like Jeff cannot be so naïve as to think that these 20-year-old kids decided to torture prisoners without direct orders from their superiors -- the heads of the American intelligence community. Jeff needs to take off his conservative Republican rose-colored glasses and look reality in the face. Ted Kennedy was just speaking the truth about the Abu Garib prison and the shame that this administration has brought upon our whole country. Thank Goodness there is someone out there like Ted Kennedy who is not afraid to speak the truth.
Lynn Kappelman
Mr. Jacoby's vilification of Ted Kennedy leaves me thinking that he himself is guilty of "seething." In grossly downplaying the torture scandal (abuse of "a few Iraqi prisoners by a few American troops"), Jacoby reveals the underpinnings of his view of the larger Iraqi conflict: military excess is regrettable, but heavy criticism of the government is unpatriotic because America's intervention is just. Whatever one's view of the war, however, smearing the government's critics as unpatriotic -- as crossing a line no true American should -- is dangerous. What would silencing Ted Kennedy, a liberal senator representing an equally liberal state, mean? Censorship of his constituents, many of whom indeed oppose this war. Jacoby's understanding of the Iraqi conflict as "the forces of evil" against "the forces of democracy and libearalism," while laughable, invokes countless precedents of what during wartime becomes our most tortured concept: patriotism. Brendan Ahern Andover
Mr Jacoby seems incapable of distinguishing fact from ideology, which is a common delusion at the White House as well. Before he takes such rabid offense at Senator Kennedy's comment, let him answer this question: How many innocent Iraqis have died since US forces invaded the country? Good luck finding a straight answer. If he wants to huff and puff about the lack of 'mainstream' media response to Kennedy's speech, let us all ask where the mainstream media was when President Bush was confusing Saddam Hussein with Al-Qeada 18 months ago. And where was he? Scott J. Cullen, M.D. Somerville
I usually avoid reading Jeff Jacoby, because I know his dishonest drivel in defense of the reactionary right wing is just going to annoy me. I made an exception today, because I wanted to find out what remark of Senator Kennedy had him so upset. Jacoby quotes Kennedy as saying ''On March 19, 2004, President Bush asked, 'Who would prefer that Saddam's torture chambers still be open?' Shamefully, we now learn that Saddam's torture chambers reopened under new management - US management.'' Continued... |
