Effects of Iraq war continuing
For how long will citizens be willing to send sons and daughters into harm’s way in support of current sites where there never should have been wars fought in the first place?
President George W. Bush, under the false pretense that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction and without the support of some members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, took this country to war with disastrous consequences to this day.
Relentless bombing and war-related violence in Afghanistan has cost more than, despite the Afghan saying, “We are a poor people having nothing to do with bin Laden.”
Osama bin Laden was being pursued immediately after the attack on Sept. 11, 2001. Within months, bin Laden, with a large contingency of al-Qaida, was known to be in the mountains of Tora Bora near the Pakistan boarder.
Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld, despite proof of bin Laden’s presence there, refused to send the necessary forces, allowing him to escape into Pakistan, where he remained until President Obama had him taken out. This was confirmed in a Senate report.
What has transpired since has resulted in countless loss of lives, untold suffering and trillions expended.
John Bratton, Sewanee, Tenn.
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Move Forrest bust to history museum
The State Capitol Commission recently held a vote on whether to recommend the removal of a bust of Nathan Bedford Forrest from the state Capitol building. It voted the proposal down 7-5. I wonder why.
What did Mr. Forrest ever do for the state of Tennessee to deserve such honor? Was it exemplary business acumen as a slave trader? His leadership skills demonstrated as grand wizard of the KKK?
According to Douglas Henry, the state legislator who lobbied tirelessly for the bust, it was his service in the Confederate Army and his “commendable qualities.” Of course. Sen. Henry started lobbying for this bust shortly after a federal court order was issued forcing Tennessee school boards to stop dragging their feet and implement desegregation through busing.
Moving the bust of Mr. Forrest to the state history museum will not erase any history. It will simply show respect for citizens of our great state who were for so long the victims of slavery, Jim Crow, and the lie of “separate but equal.”
Laurie Dworak, Red Bank
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Justice in mercy sought in accident
“Grace be to you (the reader), and peace from God our father,” who is the righteous judge of all the earth, yes, and he will do right.
Great loopholes exist in all human laws, and all who search for them may find them. And some do find them, and are benefited thereby. There are also souls/humans who look not for them but plead for mercy along with justice.
If two young men, still unidentified, destroy 17,000 acres of forest and 2,500 structures costing millions but are set free without bearing any blame for 14 lives that perished in such a prank, then why do the same Tennessee laws press so hard to destroy a good citizen for an accident that caused grief to six families and grief to his own soul?
In one case, that prank/tort was most deliberate and in the other an accident. Surely Tennessee justice can show mercy. Then the public will react with mercy.
May we all think on this. Christians seek mercy, not loopholes!
Gotha N. Logan Sr.