Letters to the Editor about Jeff Jacoby's Web exclusive columnPage 3 of 13 -- E. Phoebe Murray
Jeff Jacoby doesn't get it. Just like William Safire's article last week in The New York Times proclaiming disgust at the lack of reaction to the discovery within Iraq of traces of the poison gas Sarin, Jacoby's May 25th column demonstrates a common problem among supporters of the war: There are a lot of thinking people who are against it!
Jacoby insists that Kennedy is attacking President Bush and his policies simply in the name of election-year partisanship. He fails to consider that Kennedy's motive, much like in Southeast Asia, the Soviet Union, and Kuwait, may be a concern for troops and civilians of many nationalities whose lives are at stake. He fails to acknowledge that our misguided invasion and occupation of Iraq has strengthened those terrorist organizations that pose such a threat to free people everywhere. He fails to admit that what happened at Abu Ghraib was more than just "the disgraceful mistreatment of a few Iraqi prisoners by a few American troops." It was a concerted, consistent, and long-term effort to terrorize Iraqi citizens, and there has yet to appear any evidence that those servicepeople involved, both officers and enlisted, were doing anything but following orders. When the bus driver is heading toward a cliff, loyalty and patriotism should not keep you from shouting a warning to your fellow passengers. Brian Lutes Brewster
In Jeff Jacoby's column, "Ted Kennedy's Anti-American Slander" (May 25, 2004), Jacoby questions Senator Kennedy's challenges to the disgraceful treatments in Iraq, but he is representing the grievances of the public. His words were not too strong, nor were they unpatriotic. The responsibility of a civilized superpower is that we uphold the good and we don't torture, rape and kill our foes. Kennedy is right to question the actions of our leaders and our army. The lack of reaction from the country is the realization that we, as a superpower, can abuse our strength, our reach and our privileges, making us no better than the people we pushed out. Jacoby's comparison of Kennedy to an Al Qaeda operative is childish. The Senator has always stood for peace and rights for all human beings. He has worked hard to protect us from threats from outside and within. Kennedy is doing what he can to represent the larger body that still cannot get their voice uncensored by this administration and its power-happy friends. Jacoby shouldn't blame the public for being fed up with plan that clearly is not working. Nathan Spencer Boston
The May 25 op-ed by Jeff Jacoby is a perfect example of how impassioned dislike for a person or a political party, in his case, Senator Kennedy and the Democratic Party, can so easily disengage reason. It is Mr. Jacoby who should be embarrassed. Continued... |
