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Ilya Shlyakhter (notestaff) - letters to editors
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Below are the 17 most recent journal entries recorded in the "Ilya Shlyakhter (notestaff) - letters to editors" journal:
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01:43 pm
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detentions without trial
The ‘Combatant’ and the Evidence
Re "Judges Say U.S. Can’t Hold Man as ‘Combatant’" (front page, June 12):
The Justice Department’s response to the ruling that Ali al-Marri must have his day in court has been to recount the allegations against Mr. Marri. If the evidence against him is so strong, why does the Justice Department seek to avoid the scrutiny of a trial? If the evidence is not so strong, it is all the more important that the evidence be tested in court.
For our Justice Department to imply that “clearly guilty” defendants do not require the niceties of a trial is chilling.
Tags: fairness, nytimes, war_on_terror
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01:05 pm
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keeping bombs off planes
Keeping planes safe
Some simple steps for preventing terrorism on planes: Ban all drinks. Have the flight attendants serve enough drinks for free or for a nominal fee. Ban all MP3 players. Let people upload their music to an airline's Web site, and listen to it on airline-issued headphones during the flight.
And so on.
Most of the "essentials" that people now bring on the planes can be easily replaced with safe, airline-issued ones for the duration of the flight.
Tags: chicago_tribune, policy_ideas, replies, war_on_terror, wsj
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09:32 am
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zarqawi's death does not justify iraq war
Don't celebrate yet
I'm glad we finally killed Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, but before we celebrate, let's remember that we ourselves created this monster. Who had heard of Zarqawi before we invaded Iraq? Would his international terror network exist today had we not invaded?
Zarqawi's terror network is just one of many unintended consequences of our invasion. As we celebrate our success at cleaning this one up, let's not forget how many other consequences we still have left to deal with.
Tags: iraq, replies, usa_today, war_on_terror
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08:37 am
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haditha as microcosm of iraq war
Haditha screams a message
Re "The warrior's way," Opinion, June 6
David. J. Danelo cautions against "placing too close an association on the Haditha massacre with the war's politics," but the connection is too important to ignore. Haditha is a perfect microcosm of the entire Iraq war. Some Iraqis killed a Marine, and his mates allegedly took revenge not on the killers but on the nearest defenseless Iraqis.
On 9/11 some Arabs killed our citizens, and we took revenge not on the killers but on the nearest defenseless Arabs. The Marines at Haditha took their cue from their commander in chief. President Bush's condemnations of their acts therefore sound hypocritical.
Tags: hypocrisy, iraq, latimes, war_on_terror
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04:02 am
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allocation of anti-terror funds
The Furor Over Antiterror Spending
Republicans have no hope of winning New York in the next election, so President Bush doesn't waste time tending to New York's interests.
The root of irrational policy is the irrational politics of the Electoral College.
Tags: nytimes, politics, war_on_terror
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09:01 am
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danish cartoons
Free Speech, at a Price
Regarding Danish editor Flemming Rose's Feb. 19 Outlook piece, "Why I Published Those Cartoons":
The Muhammad cartoons were a bad choice for making a point about freedom of speech. They said nothing new, exposed no unknown bad actors, suggested no constructive solutions. In short, they had none of the qualities of speech worth defending.
Freedom of speech comes at a price; along with truly valuable speech we're forced to permit speech most of us would rather forbid. The only way to justify the price is by pointing to valuable ideas we would have lost if not for freedom of speech. What valuable ideas that were not already out there did the cartoons convey?
The cartoons have set back freedom of speech in the Muslim world by giving this Western value a bad name. To many Muslims, "freedom of speech" now represents not the great Western advances but gratuitous insults. The cartoons vividly illustrated the costs of the freedom of speech without illustrating any of its benefits.
The Danish editor's "defense" of freedom of speech was as counterproductive and irresponsible as Muslim rioters' "defense" of their prophet.
Tags: hidden_costs, replies, self-censorship, war_on_terror, washpost
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06:16 am
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notions of dignity
What Motivates Suicide Bombers?
There are many ways to achieve dignity. You can invent things and take pride in your inventions. Or you can dominate others by force and feel temporarily superior. Which of these ways is most glorified by our culture?
In the ''Iliad,'' dignity meant getting your fair share of the loot. You would hope we had come a long way since then, but apparently not.
We need to work toward making it self-evident that dignity lies in creating things, not in being king of the hill.
Tags: dignity, israel, nytimes, related_material, replies, war_on_terror
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09:21 am
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iraq and 9/11
Oh, what a lovely war
SIR – Americans will indeed accept heavy casualties to prevent another September 11th. However, Iraq had nothing to do with those atrocities.
Tags: economist, iraq, war_on_terror
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08:12 am
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letting the FBI snoop on what people read
Throwing the Book at Gelernter
Re "You Can't Judge a Book by Its Cover, but We May Find a Terrorist by What He Reads," Commentary, June 24: Citizens can't participate in government without educating themselves on "sensitive" subjects. To know whether the government's course in the war on terrorism is sane, we must understand the roots of terrorism.
That requires reading up on subjects such as jihad. But if buying a book on jihad can mean a visit from the newly powerful FBI, many won't dare. If you're branded a terrorist and sent to Guantanamo, what recourse would you have these days?
Thus, letting the FBI snoop on what people read will keep citizens from demanding needed changes to the government's course. That will materially hurt the war on terrorism.
Tags: hidden_costs, latimes, privacy, self-censorship, war_on_terror
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09:38 am
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bush rewards loyalty, not competence
Medal undeserved
Why is President Bush giving former CIA director George Tenet a medal? Certainly not for preventing 9/11. And certainly not for getting it right on Iraq ("Bush honors 3 players key to Iraq Policy," News).
Only one reason is left: Bush is rewarding loyalty. Tenet did not publicly object to Bush's case for war, despite serious doubts within his agency about whether Iraq was a threat. Bush's message to other subordinates: The way to get ahead is not to be right, but to be loyal. That's the same message Saddam Hussein gave his underlings. Bush should know better.
Tags: bush, iraq, usa_today, war_on_terror
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07:08 am
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bush's choices on iraq and afghanistan
Bush at War: Eye on the Ball?
The question isn't whether we definitely had Osama bin Laden cornered in Afghanistan at Tora Bora. It's whether we've done all in our power to capture him. Had we sent our entire army after Osama bin Laden -- as we did after Saddam Hussein -- would he be still at large?
It's obvious even to nonmilitary observers that we didn't pursue Osama bin Laden with nearly the same vigor as Saddam Hussein. Now, who was more dangerous?
Tags: iraq, nytimes, war_on_terror
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07:21 am
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tracing sources of nuclear material
Tracing Bombs
A March 23 letter mocks the notion that ''if terrorists know a bomb can be traced, they will be less likely to try to use one.'' While suicide bombers won't be deterred by the prospect of revenge, those who send them and those who provide them with weapons will be.
Naming the culprit can also help enlist allies in our fight; many Arabs doubted Osama bin Laden's involvement in 9/11 until a video showed him boasting of the deed.
After the Iraq weapons of mass destruction fiasco, accurately naming our enemies is especially important.
Tags: iraq, nytimes, policy_ideas, war_on_terror
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07:30 am
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nuclear arms
Curb the Spread of Nuclear Arms
In ''Nuclear Breakout'' (editorial, July 27), you missed an important step in curbing the spread of nuclear weapons: dismantling America's own nuclear arsenal.
It's hypocritical to call on others not to acquire nuclear weapons while we insist on keeping our own. If the United States -- with its dominant conventional army -- can't give up its nuclear deterrent, how can it ask weaker countries to give up theirs?
More important, are there still circumstances in which the United States would use a strategic nuclear weapon? In recent conflicts, we made a point of trying to avoid civilian casualties. Clearly this would be impossible with a Hiroshima-type attack.
Why, then, are we keeping these weapons?
Tags: hypocrisy, nytimes, war_on_terror
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07:31 am
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outsourcing of jobs
India, Jobs and Peace
Re ''More 'Can I Help You?' Jobs Migrate From U.S. to India'' and ''American Official Praises India's Move to Defuse Tensions With Pakistan'' (news articles, May 11):
You report that India is attracting American jobs, and that India is moving to ease tensions with Pakistan. Could these events be related? The more American jobs move to India, the more India has to lose from an escalation of tensions. Also, higher employment means that people can find fulfillment in work rather than in pursuit of nationalist ambitions.
The United States should seek to employ more people in troubled countries, as a way of stabilizing these countries and giving their governments a stake in stability. Perhaps we could offer free English classes to increase the number of employable people. Wouldn't it be great to read someday that North Korea is reducing tensions in order to attract American jobs?
Tags: dignity, nytimes, policy_ideas, war_on_terror
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09:18 am
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preventing bioweapons proliferation
How Much Do Bioweapons Cost?
It is baffling that the FBI would refuse to pay $ 5 million (and issue immigration permits) in exchange for securing known stocks of bioweapons when we just spent billions on a war to eradicate such weapons in Iraq -- and have yet to find any ["Lethal Legacy: Bioweapons for Sale," front page, April 20].
A more cost-effective way to secure such weapons would be to offer money and citizenship to foreign weapons scientists who agree to turn in the weapons they have.
We also need to think, before developing new weapons, about whether they ever will be turned against us. Most of the weapons of mass destruction that threaten us were pioneered by the United States -- for example, the Stinger missiles that now are a threat to commercial airliners.
Once the genie is out of the bottle, who knows whom it will serve?
Tags: hidden_costs, policy_ideas, war_on_terror, washpost
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08:05 am
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criticizing a wartime president
War and Dissent
Re ''Democrats Starting to Fault President on the War's Future'' (front page, March 1):
You quote Trent Lott, the Senate Republican leader, as saying, ''How dare Senator Daschle criticize President Bush while we are fighting our war on terrorism?''
The war on terrorism will take many years, and we will never be sure that it's over. Should all criticism of the president stop indefinitely? Will that help us in the long run?
Tags: nytimes, self-censorship, war_on_terror
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08:10 am
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paying for terrorism insurance
Terrorism Insurance
Re ''Life Insurers Seek Study of Terror Aid'' (Business Day, Oct. 18):
The government should assume some life insurance liability for future terrorist attacks, because that would give all taxpayers a direct stake in preventing terrorism. People would be more willing to accept the inconveniences of extra security; it's their money on the line. Federal agencies would devote more resources to security; their budgets will pay for any failures.
Let's bring home the point that terrorism is everybody's problem.
Tags: nytimes, policy_ideas, war_on_terror
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