The American Spectator

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Guns on Campus

4.19.07 @ 12:01AM

WITHDRAWAL SYMPTOMS
Re: Philip Klein's Anatomy of a Withdrawal:

Though he concedes that "we'll never know what would have happened had the U.S. Marines stayed in Lebanon," Mr. Klein tendentiously suggests that American withdrawal from Lebanon in 1984 directly contributed to the growth of Hezbollah, emboldened al Qaeda, and increased terrorism in the Middle East and Africa. I don't think that he has made an adequate case for the supposed lessons to be learned from this episode vis a vis Iraq. The possibility that American forces could have made a permanent difference for the better in Lebanon is just as much a hypothesis as it is now in Iraq. In my opinion, this pie-in-the-sky thinking is overwhelmed by the immediate intractable problems associated with the American presence.

We have precipitated a humanitarian crisis, with millions of refugees and an estimated 40,000 orphans. Above all, there are hundreds of thousands of wounded and dead. Our continued presence is most likely to produce similar results. We as a nation do not have sufficient military or financial resources or international support to guarantee the success and stability of a democratic government in Iraq. It is therefore excessively optimistic to think that staying in Iraq is on balance better than leaving.

I found it interesting that the current president is essentially following the same script as Reagan. I hope that Bush will find the wisdom and courage to admit his failure and accept the withdrawal of our troops.
-- Abe Grossman
Pleasantville, New York

BLAME GAME
Re: Lisa Fabrizio's Enough Blame to Go Around:

Love the Spectator, but Lisa Fabrizio's Faberge sensitivities are really tiresome. Yes, college kids drink beer and look at naked women, as they probably have for quite some time. It might not be worthy of praise, but it doesn't make the prosecutor's actions any less reprehensible.

Hope the Spectator gives Rudy a fair shake. The Dems have finally dared to challenge their one-issue cranks. Now the Republicans must show they are not beholden to one-note pro-lifers, gun rights purists, and anti-gay rights crusaders.
-- Jason Davis

Just one little nit-picky thing about Lisa Fabrizio's column on Imus and the "Dukies" as she calls them.

Don Imus was born in 1940. He might be an aging '60s leftist, but he isn't an "aging baby-boomer." Boomers start with the year 1946 (Bill Clinton, George W. Bush). Please, media folks, don't lump every person who looks about the right age in with my generation. Neither Imus, nor Rather, nor Kerry, nor Pelosi, Leahy, Levin, Murtha, Reid, Kennedy, nor John Lennon, Bob Dylan, Jerry Garcia, are boomers. They are all from the generation between the "Greatest" and the boomers.

The Boomers span birth years from 1946-1964. Please name that earlier generation, so I don't have to take the hit for every one of those wackos! Just FYI, I was born in 1952. Imus was 12 when I was born.
-- Deborah Durkee
Marietta, Georgia

DISRESPECTING BUSH
Re: Quin Hillyer's Conservatives Must Rally:

Quin Hillyer thinks conservatives should rally behind George W. Bush. Why? In November 2004, George Bush was reelected and the House and Senate were controlled by Republicans. George Bush was given a mandate to govern with a conservative agenda.

But, George W. Bush turned his back on conservative principles. He chose to embrace the politics of our enemies; Teddy Kennedy and his ilk. He went along with outrageous congressional spending programs. He has been in the forefront in favor of rewarding illegal immigration with citizenship. And, he has blown the war in Iraq, and who knows where he is on the war on terrorism.

George Bush is not a conservative, Mr. Hillyer. Conservatives should not rally to support Bush as you suggest. Conservatives should disassociate themselves from George Bush. Communicate to the world that he is not one of us -- because he's not!

George Bush is now being stomped on by the Democrats and the media -- the people he longed to cuddle with. He deserves all the disrespect that he is getting.
-- Jack Hughes
Chicago, Illinois

Letter to the Editor

topics:
Education, Bill Clinton, Environment, Hollywood, Law, Military, Iraq, NATO, Africa, Immigration