MONDAY'S LETTERS: Friedman Overrated, Considering Koppel's Mercenary Army, Tony Snow's Tears

By: E&P Staff In today's letters, a reader is "outraged" by Tony Snow's breakdown during his first press conference, a reader thinks Thomas Friedman is overrated, and some thoughts on Ted Koppel's idea of forming an army of mercenaries.


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As Tears Go By (in the White House Briefing Room)

I am outraged by Snow's self-serving comments and tears about his experience with cancer, especially in light of the fact that so many Americans are without insurance or the means to afford the most basic care. I'm one of them. I'm 44 and have got serious problems I can't get help for. He's got insurance, he can afford the best care, and who is he anyway to bring up a personal issue when the Nation is facing much more serious issues? Really, who cares. Why is he trying to elicit the sympathy of people whose lives are so horribly affected by issues they can't do anything about because they can't afford to?

Hearing and seeing this man cry and whine with such self-pity made me sicker than I already am. I would very much like to write him to tell him what I think. Do you have a contact email for him? He spit in the collective faces of the millions who are also in my position and I'd really like to tell him so personally.

Emily Clinton
Philadelphia, Pa.


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Re: Adults Under 35 Turn to Portals for National, International News

I am a female over 70 years of age, and get most of my news from blogs, and web-based newspapers. I would feel deprived of knowing what is going on in the world without these sources. The amount of time watching TV or reading any newspaper is very small by comparison, and would not miss newspapers in the slightest if I never saw another one. They have been completely corrupted by the political system, as has all media. It is sad that the majority of people fail to understand how out of touch they are by narrowing their choices to what is dished out and spoon-fed to them. It is dangerous because it allows others to do all of your thinking for you. I regularly turn to your Web site, and have other favorites, but love to pursue many avenues of information. Thank you for bringing the news to me via this Web site.

Joy Douglass


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Thomas Friedman's Ever-Moving Iraq Deadline

Thanks for that article. Now I feel better that I've never been a fan of Mr. Friedman. I used to think "Am I the only one who thinks he's 'overrated'?"

Mike Pupis
Newtown Square, Pa.


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Doubts About USA Today's NSA Scoop

The story last week in the USA Today about NSA wiretapping American citizens now appears dubious in the wake of Bell South and Verizon denying any such contracts to distribute phone records to the government. USA Today editor Ken Paulson stands by his paper's story, even after Bell South demanded a retraction, but without justifying what was written beyond saying nobody complained about it days after the story appeared and that all the phone companies named (Verizon, Bell South, and AT&T) knew about the paper's intent to print a story. But did he in fact show the written story to them before it got printed?

Paulson's defense, in my opinion, does not meet the common standards of journalistic integrity and reminds me of Dan Rather's reckless reportage on CBS, in 2004, of allegations leveled against President Bush concerning his National Guard duties in Texas. That CBS report turned out to be based on fake documents which led to the premature departure of Rather from his job.

We have been assured the counsel for Gannett, the parent company of USA Today, is reviewing the matter, who then should furnish us documentary proof to ensure the paper's story was in fact true, or just another big blooper driven by a media-driven madness to keep revealing intelligence secrets the government uses against our enemies.

Even if the story were proven to be true, a majority of Americans have expressed their support of NSA surveillance to protect this country. The lesson to be learned here is that the media ought to exercise more discretion in what stories to print and to realize that spilling out secret information, particularly if false, constitutes a grave harm to our country.

R. G. Lacsamana, M.D.
Daytona Beach, Fla.


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Press Neglecting Its Duty?

... All it seems you guys want is a crowd of eyes looking at your ads. Some of you provide a link to a page thats 80% ad and other crap, and then deliver a couple of lines of text of info (Even in endless cyberspace, that's a waste of time and space).

Here we are, in 2006, with an illegal war ... killing innocent people and looting their countries, "bird-flu" and other scare stories ... Exxon officials getting $400 million bonuses -- and you wonder why people don't trust you anymore.

You seem to be simply unable to do the civic side of your jobs as well as selling ads. I humbly suggest you start with the former and the latter will follow on it's own.

And you might dispense with the Associated Press and the "partnerships" with other media. When I hear "our partners at the so and so" -- I immediately cringe". Do your own work.

Just some thoughts from a former hard copy reader of several papers (and mags) a day/week.

Michael Arnold
Colorado


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Koppel: Time for U.S. to Form an "Army of Mercenaries"?


Great topic to be addressing. Corporate armies are going to be very difficult to get rid of once they've been created. And obviously, we've already covered considerable ground along the road to this particular hell. It's a huge mistake to let this concept expand, but with the corporatizing of everything, it's going to be a very big problem.

Jay Blackburn
Santa Rosa, Calif.



... I'm a playwright and screenwriter who has in fact been working on an epic play about mercenary soldiers in the Mideast. I found your article very prescient.

Mercenaries have existed throughout most of history. Until the industrialized nationalism of the 19th century, it was very common to see armies interspersed with mercenaries. Our our war for independence, involved hundreds of thousands of French, German, Prussian fighters, officers, trainers, bankers, and pamphleteers supporting the cause of American independence ... at a fee.

That being said I think mercenaries, especially in such a volatile region as the Mideast, are a recipe for disasater. There no better way to ensure the increased likelihood of civil war than by handing foreigners weapons and giving them wide arrays of rights and privileges to shoot and kill Iraqis. There is no better way to train terrorist, sow strife, and invalidate the last thin moral shred the American army is trying to stand on: free and democratic Iraq. In this particular situation, mercenaries will almost assuredly fall into the hands of those who can best afford to pay them, not necessarily the best deserved to govern. Eventually a strongman will arise with the most mercenaries and biggest weapons to 'cleanse' Iraq of his enemies. A thugocracy of loosely formed caravans of armed mobs driving around instituting random and brazen acts of oppression will become the rule of the law.

Mercenaries will destroy the middle-class, the storeowners and all those mid-level people which are necessary to the foundation of a moderate and democratic society. These abused and silenced people are already running away from Iraq in droves, further undercutting the long-term security of the region. This violence will spread and Al Qaeda will have an oil-rich, violence plagued region from which it can rebuild its infrastructure. If you want to insure continued fighting and gross crimes against humanity for the next 100 years, then supportthe idea of mercenaries. If you want to find a way for America to get out and for Iraqis to become self-governing, then they have to get people to make a pledge to their fledging democracy and not the mighty dollar.

Aurin Squire