Letters to the Editor for Wednesday, March 5, 2008

European and Mideast editions

(EDITOR’S NOTE: These are the letters that appeared in each edition of Stripes on this publication date. Click here to jump ahead to the Pacific edition letters)

Confession not coerced

In response to “Too dumb to handle suspect?” (letter, Feb. 20): It’s entertaining when college students or underemployed young adults get together and postulate on government conspiracies behind Sept. 11. The letter writer suggests that federal law enforcement agencies waterboarded Khalid Sheikh Mohammed to coerce a confession when he was captured in March 2003 in order to prevent further scrutiny of the events on Sept. 11, 2001.

Several glaring realities stand in stark contrast to the writer’s fantasy. Mohammed was waterboarded by the CIA shortly after his capture in 2003. The CIA is not a law enforcement agency, hence it is not in the business of “building a case.” Its primary concern was to get information to prevent attacks planned for the near future. The FBI, on the other hand, built a case the old-fashioned way: from evidence captured with the suspect and interviews with witnesses.

Mohammed confessed to planning Sept. 11, (as well as a host of other crimes and plots) on record in an unclassified hearing in March 2007, in his own words, admittedly free of pressure or duress to do so.

Kudos for Brussels girls team

My hat is off to the Brussels (Belgium) Youth Sports girls basketball team. In the five times I saw the Brussels girls play, I never saw them throw a cheap shot or heard them use profanity on the floor. They go out and play hard-nosed, aggressive basketball, while exhibiting good sportsmanship the whole time. They are a real class act.

The Brussels coaches appear well- grounded, treating their players with dignity and the opposing players and coaches with respect. They play all of their players in the true spirit of the youth sports program, helping all of the athletes learn the fundamentals and gain experience to take to the next level of competition. More youth sports teams in the Benelux should aspire to be like Brussels.

Why different standards?

I’ve seen the opposite situation that the writer of “Taking care of single troops” (letter, Feb. 27) is talking about. The Army is all about standardizing living conditions for soldiers, even if they were from different tax brackets before they joined the Army.

I took a big step down when I moved into the barracks. I’m not complaining about my housing, but the married couples do not go through the same hassles that single soldiers do. I am currently a section chief; I and my other single soldiers are constantly being awakened and told how to live in “my government-issue room.” We get room inspections from people who live off post. Married couples who live on or off post do not go through these issues. We are also not allowed to have guests at certain times of the day, like a curfew for guests. So much for “my government room.”

In the civilian world, married and single employees get paid the same and expect the same standards, regardless of the situation at home. Why does the military need to accommodate? Why do the married soldiers get Basic Allowance for Housing, Basic Allowance for Subsistence? As single soldiers, we get BAS taken out of our paychecks whether we eat at the dining facility or not.

I do not want to hear it from a married soldier that he is not receiving enough support from the military. We as Americans are given a choice on what to do with our own money. If a married soldier spends too much, that is his own fault. The government’s job is not to hand out welfare checks.

Liberals imperil U.S. traditions

Our schools and universities are creating radical liberalism organizations such as Code Pink faster than automobiles on an assembly line (“Opinion: Code Pink had city council all to itself,” Feb. 19).

As documented examples, Berkeley City Council in California declared Marine recruiters persona non grata. [It later rescinded the vote, but retained its anti-war stance.] Marines arriving in Toledo, Ohio, to conduct exercises in urban warfare were ordered by the mayor to leave the city, claiming they frighten people. The City Council of Brattleboro, Vt., is deciding whether a warrant should be issued for the arrest of the president and vice president of the United States should they ever visit their small town. Restricting the movement of law-abiding citizens borders on fascism, if not treason.

If all that our so-called elite education system is capable of producing are pseudo-intellectual, Code Pink operatives and city council members as mentioned — along with the anti-America, cradle-to-grave, government-owes-me-a-living generation — Americans are in danger of becoming a nation of secular progressives and puppets subservient to the whims of the thugs of the United Nations. This is a liberal’s dream and a conservative’s nightmare.

With the above in mind, the presidential campaigns are well under way, and conservatives must pay particular attention to words such as “hope” and “change we can believe in” and “I’m ready to lead on day one.” These are meaningless coded key words mostly associated with radical liberalism — an ideology taught by leftist demagogues in some of our schools and universities that produce radical citizens such as those in Berkeley, Toledo and Brattleboro. Being an ex-Marine from the early ’50s, I will always be honored for having once been a member of an elite force with proud traditions. To all you leathernecks out there: “Semper Fi.”

To honor their sacrifice

I am a captain in the Air Force currently deployed to Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar. I was prior enlisted in Air Force Special Operations Command and have been in the Air Force for almost 19 years. I have quite a few close friends who are no longer with us because of their sacrifices … their sacrifices for their units, their buddies, their country and, most importantly, their families. I have always worn the U.S. flag on my flight suit as a sign of respect toward their memories, and to let their wives and children know they are not forgotten.

But now I am being told I am not authorized to wear our nation’s symbol of sacrifice and freedom because we are to wear our expeditionary wing patch in place of it.

I will comply with this policy because I have a job to do out here, and that job entails enabling our nation’s efforts in all theaters within which we are engaged. But I would like to reassure the families of my fallen friends that their husbands and fathers are not forgotten, and my efforts are motivated by their sacrifices. I will always carry with me a U.S. flag to that end.

Nice versus necessary

I am currently serving on an outpost in central Iraq. Our post exchange has been without the necessities for about one month. We recently got a big shipment in, only to find no necessity items — only junk food, video games and cleaning supplies. We have been without shampoo, razors and other daily hygiene items for this entire month. I understand that shipments are slow, but when they do arrive why can’t they have the merchandise that we need?

We are only hurting our troops by supplying them with items that are nice but not necessary.

Pacific edition

Don’t forget due process

In response to “What Scalia really said” (letter, Feb. 29), whose writer responded to “Justice Scalia should resign” (letter, Feb. 22) with “The Eighth Amendment does not say anything about cruel and unusual interrogation, so the Supreme Court should not be asked to pretend that it does”: Problem is, many people seem to miss a very important step (aka due process, see Fifth Amendment).

If we are to fault the Supremes for pretending something does not exist, it would be the Sixth Amendment. That’s the one referring to an accused’s right to counsel. Court decisions have made clear that the right to counsel essentially exists from the moment the detaining authority considers a person a suspect, not merely charged or arraigned. Sure, the person can be asked questions as a witness, but once the detaining authority makes that subjective leap from person of interest to suspect, they get to have counsel present. In other words, when a person is being interrogated for his or her potential participation (and knowledge — think aider and abettor) in a crime, they are a suspect and must be informed that they have the right to counsel.

Without debating whether we are currently at war or if the mission is accomplished or whether people are enemy combatants or prisoners of war, the fact remains that there are people detained who have not been afforded their right to counsel. If a detaining authority is interested in a person enough to torture him, it’s a good bet that person is being viewed as a suspect.

As a defense attorney, I can count on less than one finger how many times an officer has asked me if I’d allow them to torture my client. I guess I could say OK to that request, but, well, that just doesn’t seem to be in the best interest of my client.

Disconnect on GIs’ accounts

At 3:30 a.m. [recently], my husband and I called Verizon Wireless to reactivate our phones, as we are returning home [from Iraq] soon and wanted to catch the company during its business hours. Upon speaking with a customer service representative, it became apparent that Verizon not only suspended our contracts, it disconnected our phones and gave our numbers away to other customers.

What is truly amazing is that the company took the letters our commanding officers signed regarding our deployment dates, and deemed the letters not worthy of suspending our contracts. It continued to charge us for those months without notifying us and when we did not pay, it disconnected the lines.

Long story short, when we called to reactivate our phones they told us our numbers no longer existed and that we owed them nearly $500!

When we asked to speak to a manager, we were told nothing could be done. When we did actually speak to a manager we were told it was our fault that we owed the money. The manager then proceeded to say “We’re sorry but nothing can be done for you. Goodbye.”

We were hung up on … in Iraq … at 3:30 in the morning. Real professional.

We spoke to another manager who was courteous enough to recredit our accounts and cut all remaining ties with their service. We are no longer with Verizon Wireless.

For all of the soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen out there, make sure you are checking up on the status of your accounts. Apparently, a letter from your command stating you are deploying is not enough these days. And aside from seeing servicemembers off at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point (N.C.), I am not sure what else they are looking for.

Pet food and patio furniture

Granted, the Army and Air Force Exchange Service is in country, with higher prices, nice silverware, vacuums, pet food, patio furniture and a building full of other things we have no use for. They have local vendors who live and eat with us, but raise their prices to cover the tax that tax-free AAFES charges them. Am I the only person who sees this? Thank God for Walmart.com.