Letters

Irish Observer Is Clueless

ROBERT O’Sullivan in his “Wake Up People” letter in last week’s issue managed to write the most stupid letter I have ever read. 

Quote — “We here in a free Europe, thanks in the main to the Russians who freed the continent with a minor input from the U.S. and Britain.”

Yeah, right. The Russian people rose up on their own accord and freed Europe. What cuckoo land are you living in, Mr. O’Sullivan? That is the most pathetic statement anyone could ever make. 

The Russians had no real choice in the matter, and the Russians are not responsible for freeing Europe at all. Get your facts straight. 

The western Allies, through their continued presence in Europe, (including my own minor contribution as a young soldier in West Berlin standing on The Wall) the relentless pressure put on them in the main by Ronald Reagan, are the ones responsible for the freedom of Europe. I guess Mr. O’Sullivan’s left wing propaganda soul can’t handle that truth. 

As for Mr. O’Sullivan’s statement, “Who the hell are the Americans to decide what form of government the people of Iraq should choose or be subject to?” At least they have a choice now. The Iraq people can choose themselves. Who is Mr. O’Sullivan to criticize anyone for giving other people the freedom of choice! 

We know of the appalling suffering they suffered before they were freed. We also know of the continued suffering they are enduring by foreigners coming in helping other thugs to prevent the Allied forces in helping get the country back on its feet. 

Al-Sadr is welcomed by the new Iraq government in taking part in his country’s future, once he gets his army of thugs to lay down weapons, and stop cynical misusing religious areas for battle sites. That Americans framed him again is another blatant lie from Mr. O’Sullivan, who should prove what he writes.

It is plainly obvious that Mr. O’Sullivan is clueless. The most important thing is there has not been an attack on the U.S. since September 11. 

I am born and bred in Europe and moved to U.S. three years ago. I am sick and tired of Europeans thinking they are superior to Americans with all this left wing garbage they come out with. They constantly knock America.

America may not be the world, unfortunately the world always seems to expect America to lead the way. When it does, it gets critics from abroad like this O’Sullivan idiot belching out his nonsense. 

I am looking forward to becoming a U.S. citizen soon, unfortunately not in time to vote for President Bush, the best since Reagan.

Padraig Eamonn O’Reilly 

Massapequa, New York 

Olympic Favoritism

I AGREE with Niall O’Dowd’s “Periscope” column in the August 25-31 issue that the Olympic coverage by NBC was dreadful. The outstanding past events mentioned by O’Dowd were provided by ABC under the guidance of Roone Arledge. 

However, I was in Ireland during the Sydney games in 2000 and felt totally frustrated by not hearing about any American athletes except Marion Jones. This August I was in Ireland again during the first half of the Olympics. Michael Phelps was covered but little else American. 

It seems that most countries devote coverage to their own athletes. It’s not just the United States. 

Stephanie Charles 

Baltimore, Maryland 

Save Our Democracy!

I HAVE a far different view of George W. Bush than that expressed by M. Dolan in his/her letter “Irish Anti-Americanism” in the August 25-31 issue.

You can fool all of the people some of the time, and some of the people all of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time. These words were spoken over a century ago by Abraham Lincoln, and they are very true. Unfortunately, the Bush administration does not believe them, for it is trying to fool all of us that its policies are working to better this country when the exact opposite is true.

We are in a dangerous downward spiral and are being fooled by soundbites and misinformation. The deficit is skyrocketing ($435 billion this year), the economy is struggling (e.g., 1.8 million jobs have been lost during the past three years — the worse job loss since Herbert Hoover), environmental laws are being ripped apart, our reputation among other nations is being decimated, and our loyal, patriotic soldiers are dying every day in an unjustified war for oil in Iraq.

President Bush would have us believe that the deficit spending caused by his tax cuts for the rich will improve the economy. An American worker making $30,000 this past year will pay 46% of his wages in Medicare, Social Security and income taxes. In sharp contrast, those in the top 1% of earnings will pay only 15%!

Sixty percent of major corporations no longer pay taxes due to shelters that the Bush White House will not allow the IRS to fight. And as our deficit grows, the dollar weakens — which means that our imports, especially oil, will cost more.

There are many other misrepresentations coming from the Bush camp. And most of them are aimed at John Kerry by the right-wing hate machine led by Bush’s Machiavellian adviser Karl Rove, who spread vicious lies about Senator John McCain during the 2000 Republican presidential primary.

The only remedy is for all of us to take part in what makes this country great — active citizenship. Let us no longer be fooled!

Get involved in the presidential campaign. Read books and newspapers, listen to National Public Radio (as opposed to the right-wing propaganda on our corporate-owned media). Listen to WBAI and Air America Radio, and research the issues on the Internet.

Do not let us be a nation that is easily hoodwinked with soundbites and 30-second attack ads. Otherwise, in the not so long run, we could lose our democracy!

James V. Burke

Sayreville, New Jersey

America Creates Conflict

I ALMOST fell off my chair laughing when I read M. Dolan’s letter, “Irish Anti-Americanism” in the August 25-31 issue, praising America’s efforts in liberating the “Philippines after Marcos,” the tyrant whose power base came from the CIA. 

It amazes me that so many people here still view U.S. foreign policy as a selfless force to bring “freedom” to the world, rather than a self-interested program to ensure that political regimes friendly to America’s corporate interests remain in power, and to keep the people of the Third World from ever reaching their true potential. 

Let’s face it, the last two major conflicts were more about the U.S. cleaning up after messes created by former (mostly Republican) regimes. Afghanistan was the product of the civil war by the mujahadeen (the original Taliban) and Islamic fundamentalists like Osama bin Laden. Both were funded by the CIA to remove Communists from power, while Iraq’s former tyrant was once the darling of the Reagan administration in its efforts to thwart Iran. 

The blood of almost 1,000 U.S. soldiers and countless thousands of innocent civilians has been spilled in order for the current U.S. administration to punish its former allies in both conflicts. 

I suppose Mr. Dolan might also think that the people of Chile should be “grateful” for the CIA’s support for Pinochet, or that Indonesians should celebrate the backing the U.S. gave to Suharto, who ruled that country with ruthless authority for more than 30 years. 

There have been examples of benign U.S. foreign policy — most notably the Clinton administration’s intervention in Kosovo — but for the most part it has been a flawed, self-interested program that has lost the U.S. a lot of support around the world. 

The removal of Bush and his cronies from office in the next election will go a long way to fixing that tarnished image. 

Dermot Murray

Mount Vernon, New York