update on crazy LTTE

[PittPoliSci]

I wrote this in response, and pending approval, i'm going to submit it to the Tribune Review (greensburg, pa).

Abuse is not enough?

As a longtime subscriber to the Tribune Review, I am well aware of its right-ward leanings; however, I was disgusted when I saw the letter Abuse is not enough (May 25, 2004). A more hateful and misinformed letter has never been published by what I thought was a newspaper that claimed to stand for integrity.
Author Dave Chelko spouts simple-minded, uninformed rhetoric claiming that because of the events that surrounded September 11, 2001; we clearly have the right to abuse (or even kill) whatever Iraqi prisoners we want, despite admissions from the very conservative Bush Administration that Iraq had nothing to do with the hijackings.
Furthermore, most prisoners in Abu Ghraib (70 to 90% as estimated by the Red Cross) were either completely innocent or in there for a minor infraction. I am certain that Mr. Chelko would not want to be killed if he ran a stop sign or failed to yield at an intersection. Basically, what I am trying to convey is that nobody deserves to be treated the way innocent Iraqi civilians were. Our civility and compassion is what separates us from terrorists, if Mr. Chelko believes otherwise, his philosophy certainly does not distinguish him from the hijackers that slaughtered innocent Americans on a clear and sunny September morning.

Wilson Ragen
N. Huntingdon

[didntvote4shrub]

1. thumbs up here...

...good reply! I might take out the part about "right-ward leanings" of the paper, because it dilutes your point by bringing politics into what should be a simple humanitarian issue.

[JaySherman]

2. Cite one or two examples of minor infractions.

It removes any relativity from the definition of 'minor infractions.'

Good job! :thumbsup:

[left is right]

3. Also

Throw in a paragraph that we have killed more Iraqi's while tying to liberate them, than were killed in 911. Many of these were women and children, not to mention that the death toll probably doesn't take into account the number of innocent fetuses. Be sure to say that this is in spite of not having any credible evidence that Iraq or Iraqi citizens had anything to do with 911, in the first place.