Letters

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story on Karl Rove's involvement in the disclosure of a CIA officer's identity provoked dismay at the lengths to which the White House will go to discredit critics. Others dismissed the affair as a partisan attack

Whether Karl Rove technically broke a law when he leaked the identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame [wife of Bush Administration critic Joseph Wilson] is beside the point [July 25]. Despite repeated denials by the White House, Rove talked about Plame to Time's Matthew Cooper as well as to Robert Novak, the reporter who blew her cover. So the President's deputy chief of staff was involved in revealing the identity of a covert CIA officer because her husband disputed George W. Bush's claim that Iraq attempted to buy uranium from Niger. The President's right-hand man is at best a rat and at worst a traitor.
Hal March
Williamstown, Massachusetts, U.S.

Here's the situation: Rove is the architect of Bush's successful presidential campaigns and of Republican congressional victories. The Democrats will do or say anything to destroy the conservative political genius. This "controversy" has nothing to do with national security and everything to do with party politics as usual.
Hugh Maguire
Natick, Massachusetts, U.S.

Lost in the cacophony of media attention surrounding Rove's possible misdeeds is one basic fact: in the buildup to the U.S. invasion of Iraq, this Administration misled the American people regarding Iraq's development of nuclear weapons. That important fact is now virtually forgotten. Meanspirited Novak, a shill for the political right, publicly outed Wilson's wife Plame. That was the Administration's first parry to deflect public attention. And with the continuing diversion of public attention from the central issue of deception, the Administration is having things just the way it wants.
Gregory J. Ryan
Woodland Hills, California, U.S.

Americans deserve to know all the facts about who leaked the identity of CIA officer Valerie Plame. Bush's credibility is on the line. We will see if Bush really meant it when he said he would fire anyone in his Administration who leaked information that exposed the identity of a CIA officer. The media must hold Bush's feet to the fire until he does what he said he would do.
Paul L. Whiteley Sr.
Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.

Why even pose the question of whether Rove will pay the price for his role in the Plame debacle? Rove is a political strategist who knows precisely what to say—or not to say—to keep himself out of hot water. He knew exactly what he was doing with his campaign of innuendo and rumor. Unfortunately, somebody else is going to end up taking the fall for Rove's vindictiveness. Rove should be fired immediately, but it will be hard for the President to oust his most trusted adviser.
Jennifer Denny
Peoria, Illinois, U.S.

The media are making the Plame case far too complicated. Bush can no more fire Rove than dummy Charlie McCarthy could fire ventriloquist Edgar Bergen.
Edmund C. Valentine
Wabasso, Florida, U.S.

This entire affair reminds me too much of typical middle school-clique infighting—except that 13-year-olds don't hold the power of life and death over millions of people. What can we do to ensure that positions of power are held by more responsible, cooperative, civil adults?
Jo Virgil
Austin, Texas, U.S.

It is absurd that New York Times reporter Judith Miller was put in jail for refusing to reveal her confidential sources, while Rove remains in a job paid for by U.S. taxpayers. It's time for Bush to demonstrate true character and do as he promised, without parsing the relative legality of Rove's actions, which were at the very least arrogant and unethical. That sort of behavior should not be tolerated by either the President or the American people. We expect better from our public servants, elected or otherwise.
Lucia Foley
Cinnaminson, New Jersey, U.S.

We don't know yet if Rove committed a criminal act. But we do know the answers to other questions: Is he a character assassin? Absolutely. Is he unethical? Without a doubt. Those answers should be enough to ride him out of town on a rail. The Bush Administration, however, will probably promote him and give him a raise.
Jane Voigt
Arlington, Virginia, U.S.

Cooper's Testimony
Time correspondent Matthew Cooper's account of what he told the grand jury investigating the leak of the identity of CIA officer Plame [July 25] increased my level of trust in journalists several notches above its usual place—that is, below that of used-car salesmen. Cooper admitted that he couldn't make perfect sense of some of his notes, didn't have infallible recall and didn't know all the legal ramifications of everything that happened. He actually seems to think that he can be a little like the rest of us and still be a reporter. He provided a glimmer of what honest journalism can be. I like it!
Frank Kizer
Bartlett, Tennessee, U.S.

What stands out most for me is the lengths to which Cooper was willing to go to protect Rove as his source [of information that Wilson's wife worked for the CIA]—just as any great reporter would for any other source. Too often those in this country, who decry the "mainstream news media" as liberally biased, forget that the Founding Fathers wrote the First Amendment to protect our democracy, not to destroy it. By keeping Rove's identity confidential, Cooper, in the finest tradition of journalism, proved that freedom of the press protects all of us, regardless of race, religion or political affiliation.
Jonathan Greene
Los Angeles

War of Words
In his column "Stop trying to spin the Iraq War" [July 25], Joe Klein wrote that the Rove-Plame-Wilson affair illuminated "a signature disgrace of the Bush presidency: its tendency to treat the war in Iraq as an issue to be spun, rather than a life-and-death struggle to be won." Klein should be applauded for reminding Americans that Bush's top priority is to protect and enhance his and his party's image. Nearly every issue is molded along political-party lines and spun. When will Americans finally stand up and demand that this Administration be held accountable for its errors and for jeopardizing national security? The President's job is to protect us, not his own hide.
Alev Günay
New York City

Of Islam and Violence
Irshad Manji's essay "When Denial Can Kill" succinctly captured the complex issue of Islam's intertwinings with terrorism and noted that Muslims, of which she is one, need to admit that Islam might be motivating suicide bombers [Aug. 1]. As a Muslim, I find it not only refreshing but also encouraging to read an article that challenges what Manji referred to as a "dangerous denial from which mainstream Muslims need to emerge." Perhaps other Muslims will follow Manji's lead and be less hesitant to create a much needed bridge of "cross-cultural understanding."
Sara Sadik
London

Denial can kill. I believe that Manji is, however, mistaken in blaming religion for terrorism. A person's actions are decided and forged in reality, not religion. Islam is not to blame. While religion is a powerful force, it is not the reason that terrorism exists. The terrorists are trying to protect their culture, land and dignity in an unreasonable, extreme way. Manji asks Muslims to "own up" to the negative ideas that radicals find in the Koran. But that does nothing to rectify the situation or change the system. Change is needed—;not just personal change but social change as well.
Lisa Alarcon
Stanford, California, U.S.

It is with dismay that I hear the worn-out excuses offered by both liberal and militant Muslims for committing grievous crimes against innocent people. The world is not a perfect place, but when the rest of us don't get what we want, we aren't hell-bent on bringing down the whole house. My advice to clearheaded Muslims is to look closely and honestly at the real reasons behind the scourge of terrorism. If they do not, then self-destruction is inevitable.
James Gogo
Bonny, Nigeria

The Czar of Bizarre
Director and filmmaker David Lynch has plans to bring Transcendental Meditation to the classroom so that students and teachers can know themselves better [PEOPLE, July 25]. Long admired as an original thinker, Lynch won many fans with his darkly atmospheric 1990 TV series Twin Peaks. TIME deemed the show "hauntingly original." As the 1990 fall TV season began, we devoted a cover story to Lynch, describing him as a "wild-at-art genius" and including his whimsical remarks on staying young [Oct. 1, 1990]: "Listen to [Lynch] on the subject of aging—which, as so many things do, attracts and repels him. 'Scientists are working right now ... to give us a better life. I hope they make some big breakthroughs soon. If you could only reconcile the mental with the physical, then throw in the emotional! These growth hormones, where can I get a bunch of them? Is there some way that, with electricity, you could stimulate your own growth hormones? Plug yourself in for five minutes, there'd be a little jolt, but you'd get used to it. It wouldn't be bad at all; in fact, you'd get to enjoy it, probably. Then away you'd go, and youth wouldn't be wasted on the young anymore. You'd be 25, with a 95-year-old mind. Granddad would start breaking into liquor stores and staying out late. Hope we have it soon!'"