While the writer of the June 15 letter “Betrayals should be punished” is correct to point out it is reprehensible to collaborate with our enemies, he goes way too far when he says, “It is this soldier’s opinion that the enemies of the United States deserve nothing but death.”

First of all, he should take great care in defining “enemies of the United States.” Would that include, for instance, those massacred at My Lai? By enemies, does he also mean civilian infants who happened to be born in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in early August 1945? But more importantly, his overstatement implies that in 234 years of American history, our enemies have never been in the right, the United States has never been wrong, and that we should never show any restraint or discretion, which is the better part of valor. According to him, we should simply kill, kill, kill.

Apparently, it is our God-given right to decide who should or should not live. I must have missed that in Sunday school.

The writer is certainly entitled to his opinion, but I hope we don’t all agree. It behooves our servicemembers to be much more careful about what they say, lest others use our words to justify their actions against us and our words come back to haunt us.

Chief Petty Officer Luis M. Luque (retired)

Camp Victory, Iraq

Amazed attack even happened

As a former aviator in Vietnam, I found some parts of the article “Aviation Marines engage Taliban in ground fight” (posted on stripes.com under the heading Around The Web) mind-boggling. We have been in this war [in Afghanistan] for almost 10 years and we do not have communication between a post close to Bagram and the main security post there? What if the attack had come there first and headed toward Bagram? Maybe send a carrier pigeon.

Then the article says the insurgents got over the outside 6-foot perimeter wall and hid in the tall grass inside the wall. What is this, we cannot cut the tall grass because it will destroy the environment?

It sounds like heads should roll on this base and the Marines should get their act together.

Chief Warrant Officer 2 James Kita (retired)

Oshkosh, Wis.

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