Letters to the Editor

Letters posted here are associated with the following article:
When is an accidental civilian death not an accident?
When the Air Force asks permission first. In Iraq and Afghanistan, the U.S. military has rules for killing civilians. But do the rules actually save lives?
By Mark Benjamin [2007-07-30]
The letters thread is now closed.

  • And good luck to you Elephantman, as I know you will enlist soon

    If you haven't already.

    -- talkslowly
    [Read talkslowly's other letters]
    Wednesday, August 1, 2007 02:20 PM

  • and "while I'm on a roll", E.M. about the PLO & Israel

    let me see if I understand your position: Arafat's leadership was weak, and the peace process was a waste of time, so the Palestinians needed action not talk, right? Like... Hammas? The ones you kinda sorta railed against in your original letter?

    Gosh, this middle east thing is so confusing, let's just hand it over to President Numbskull and keep dropping bombs, as long as armchair warriors and chatroom denizens are safe and sound, then why bother questioning our leaders?

    -- talkslowly
    [Read talkslowly's other letters]
    Wednesday, August 1, 2007 03:37 PM

  • Policing Through 500lb. Bombs

    You know you've lost when you have to use heavy duty airpower to kept the bad guys under control. Seymour Hersh wrote an excellent article on this a couple of years back:

    http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2005/12/05/051205fa_fact

    A different take on Israel's use of airpower in it's loss against Hezbollah last summer:

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/24/AR2006072400807.html

    And perhaps the most heart-felt take by Bruce Cockburn in his "If I Had A Rocket Launcher":

    "Here comes the helicopter -- second time today

    Everybody scatters and hopes it goes away

    How many kids they've murdered only God can say

    If I had a rocket launcher...I'd make somebody pay

    I don't believe in guarded borders and I don't believe in hate

    I don't believe in generals or their stinking torture states

    And when I talk with the survivors of things too sickening to relate

    If I had a rocket launcher...I would retaliate

    On the Rio Lacantun, one hundred thousand wait

    To fall down from starvation -- or some less humane fate

    Cry for Guatemala, with a corpse in every gate

    If I had a rocket launcher...I would not hesitate

    I want to raise every voice -- at least I've got to try

    Every time I think about it water rises to my eyes.

    Situation desperate, echoes of the victims cry

    If I had a rocket launcher...Some son of a bitch would die"

    -- totallyblase
    [Read totallyblase's other letters]
    Thursday, August 2, 2007 09:02 PM

Letters Help