Seeing the Trees and the Forest

• Share

Your report on London's recent terrorism scare asked, "Can we spot the threat?" [July 16]. Of course we can! The threat is modern Islam — the newly born, power-hungry, fundamentalist metamorphosis of a traditionally moderate religion waging a holy war against the supposedly corrupt and decaying West. Many Muslims firmly believe that the virtually limitless funds streaming from the Middle Eastern oil wells and the tolerance in Western countries of militant Islamist propaganda are all by decree from Allah. Given the refusal of the politically correct Western leadership and media to recognize the true identity of this threat and effectively deal with it, it will keep surprising us time and again.
Moshe G. Katz, RISHON LEZION, ISRAEL

Scooting Away from Justice
In "Easy Commute," Richard Lacayo suggested that President George W. Bush commuted the sentence of I. Lewis (Scooter) Libby, a member of the Bush inner circle, because Bush had nothing to lose [July 16]. But there could be a more sinister reason. Events have shown that U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, not Vice President Dick Cheney, leaked the undercover identity of Valerie Plame. If Cheney was innocent the entire time, why did Libby have to lie to protect him? Could something even more damaging emerge upon further investigation? With a commuted sentence, Libby can plead the Fifth Amendment in future testimony. With a pardon, he could not. This whole affair smells. The Bush Administration has taken politics from the gutter into the sewers.
Stephen H. Weentland, HOUSTON

The prosecutor in Libby's case said, "It is fundamental to the rule of law that all citizens stand before the bar of justice as equals." Bush's commutation suggests three things: the President believes there is another class of citizen in the U.S., cronyism trumps justice and the President condones perjury and obstruction of justice when it's convenient and helpful to his Administration.
Terry Sandquist, HUTCHINSON, MINNESOTA, U.S.

Bush's commutation of Libby's sentence was clever indeed. The President has kept a loyalist from going to jail. By not receiving an outright pardon, Libby is effectually prevented from being forced to testify openly about events related to the Plame incident. The devious nature of this Administration cannot be overestimated
Barbara Struthers, DEERFIELD, ILLINOIS, U.S.

I'm glad Bush commuted Libby's sentence. There are too many people in U.S. prisons already. Besides, I don't feel any less safe with Scooter remaining loose and weird on the streets. But if I were in any way complicit in exposing the identity of a U.S. secret agent to our enemies during a time of war — which is in effect what happened with the outing of CIA operative Plame — I would be called a traitor and duckwalked to an electric chair, gas chamber or some form of lethal injection.
Sterling Greenwood, ASPEN, COLORADO, U.S.

As a Canadian who follows the American political scene closely, I was shocked and dismayed by your President's decision to meddle in the Scooter Libby case. What a sorry example for American youth. It is apparently O.K. to lie to cover your backside and that of your boss. Bush's intervention in the Libby case is not only an insult to your judicial system, but it is also an abuse of Executive power.
Barry Mayhew, VICTORIA, B.C., CANADA

Lacayo's article nailed it: Bush's reputation is so low that he has "nothin' left to lose" in letting Libby off the hook. But while Janis Joplin's powerful performance of Me and Bobby McGee certainly knocked it out of the park, let's give Kris Kristofferson credit for composing the classic words of that poetic song.
Jerry Evans, DUANE LAKE, NEW YORK, U.S.

Under a Cloud, or Clear-Eyed?
William Kristol's "Be Happy!" commentary about the nation's misplaced pessimism began with this statement: "It's mass gloom that opens doors to outsiders like [Ross] Perot and [Mike] Bloomberg" [July 16]. This may be Kristol's view, but for many others the "gloom" is about improving the nation. America can be greater than a bunch of lifer politicians who view the world through the haze of their intoxication with power and privilege.
Abe WalkingBear Sanchez, CANON CITY, COLORADO, U.S

Kristol provided an interesting portrayal of the national pessimism swirling through the U.S. and observed the same tendency in Europe. In Belgium we held federal elections one month ago. People expect that many of our new government's actions will improve social security and employment. I wonder whether this widespread pessimism is really justified. Globally, public opinion is becoming more moderate, and the kind of sheepish anti-American mentality is bound to disappear in time. If I hang the Stars and Stripes on my wall, it means I see it not as a symbol of oppression but as a symbol of freedom and equality.
Mathieu Smeysters, LEUVEN, BELGIUM

In bold type, Kristol declares that "it may well be that no other people in human history have ever had it quite so good." He is probably correct, if he is referring to the upper class. But he is wrong if he believes that the 47 million people without health insurance and the working class in general have no reason to feel pessimistic. As Kristol stated, unemployment is low. But the rise in low-paying and insecure "McJobs" is not a sign that all boats are being lifted. As long as the income gap between rich and poor continues to soar, there will be increasing pessimism.
Joe Burke, ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, U.S.