16 June 2006Mitsuye Yamada / Irvine
Re "Where are Iraq's Pentagon Papers?" Current, June 11Indeed, where are Iraq's Pentagon Papers? Daniel Ellsberg suggests that there are "at the very least, hundreds of civilian and military officials" who have access to papers that would reveal "actual war crimes" committed by this administration.
Who among them will have the moral courage to take the personal risk that Ellsberg did and come forward to stop the senseless killing? Could it be that with the Patriot Act hanging over us, such a person would not be as lucky as Ellsberg was?
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Bob Constantine / Placentia
My country has gone through a metamorphosis of sorts since Ellsberg's expose of the devastating and immoral Vietnam War. Legitimate dissent has been cast as unpatriotic or treasonous, and the concept of morality has been reshaped by a government that picks and chooses religious scripture to justify an immoral adventure or agenda. Small wonder that those who aspire to higher office in the shadow of the Iraq war choose to join the choir chanting meaningless slogans such as "Support the troops," "Finish the job" or "We'll stand down when they stand up." Rep. John P. Murtha (D-Pa.) has demonstrated a rarely seen courage in this regard as an outspoken critic of the Iraq war. However, he too has been characterized as a traitor in spite of his heroic service in Vietnam and demonstrated support for a strong military. The administration has done a thorough job of cloaking the Iraq tragedy as part of the war on terror, and a country so divided into deep shades of blue and red cannot find its way toward developing a bipartisan investigation sufficient to expose the information used to start and perpetuate this war. http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/opinion/la-le-friday16.4jun16,1,4799349.story
