Letters

April 26, 2004
Coming home from Boston yesterday the flags were at half mast at a Connecticut rest stop north of Hartford. This was to honor a local woman killed in Iraq.

Another perspective

Coming home from Boston yesterday the flags were at half mast at a Connecticut rest stop north of Hartford. This was to honor a local woman killed in Iraq.

Seventy-six US soldiers (23 this past weekend) and many hundreds of Iraqis have died in the insurrection there this month alone: are all of those we killed terrorists?

My sister's eldest son, who served 4 years in the Army, has just received an order to report for duty. Soldiers in Iraq are routinely having their tours of duty extended. Reserve units are being used as regular Army units because the military is completely overextended and now must fight a bloody urban guerrilla war.

Meanwhile, here in the US, the party goes on. No sweat, no sacrifice, no new taxes, and more tax cuts for everyone. No photos of returning dead, no attendance at funerals by the leaders who got us into this mess. This Administration has clearly botched the occupation, and hasn't a clue what to do next. Authority is supposed to be turned over to Iraqis on June 30: Paul Bremmer, the US Coalition Manager, admitted he has no idea to whom we should give such authority.

I find your comments on Iraq ignorant and insensitive. They make OGJ look like an apologist for a completely failed policy. I would appreciate it if you confined your essays to the industry you know so well.

If you must editorialize on such delicate matters, you should at least allow room for other opinions.
Alfred Cavallo
Energy Consultant
Princeton, NJ