Law of the Sea Treaty should be ratified Re: “LOST would be a loser for the U.S.,” June 12
James Carafano’s column is misleading in its discussion of the Obama administration’s support of UNCLOS (the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea). He fails to mention that since the 1994 amendments, every president — including George W. Bush — has supported it.
Additionally, prominent military figures such as the chief of naval operations, the judge advocate general of the Coast Guard, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff all support ratification. Perhaps Mr. Carafano should have asked these servicemen and women their thoughts before volunteering their services to defend the freedom of the seas solely by force.
Ratification of UNCLOS would improve U.S. security by increasing military mobility and protecting U.S. resources.More Americans would support this treaty if they were aware of the wide-ranging bipartisan support UNCLOS enjoys. However, Mr. Carafano’s attempt to politicize the issue puts our nation on the wrong heading.
Porter Glock
Alexandria
Hurricane Katrina not the real culprit
Re: ” ‘A Night in Treme’ overcomes the tragedy of Katrina,” June 12
Emily Cary’s article was very good, with one exception: It repeated the myth about Hurricane Katrina devastating New Orleans.
Hurricane Katrina was a Category 3 hurricane with powerful winds and storm surges. The storm surges overtopped poorly built and designed levees surrounding the city, and came up the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet — a man-made shipping channel — that was a shortcut between the Gulf of Mexico and the Mississippi River. MRGO allowed the storm surges to flood New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward and nearby St. Bernard Parish.
It’s important to distinguish between the real devastation of a hurricane and the catastrophe from man-made disasters, such as the levees collapsing around New Orleans and nearby communities.
Wendy King
New Orleans
Leggett ignored clear will of his constituents
Re: “Leggett met with soccer group while pushing farm switchover,” May 30
I am appalled by Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett’s decision to award a vaguely written land lease to Montgomery Soccer Inc., a membership organization, to construct four soccer fields for its members on a 20-acre plot of land surrounded on all sides by small neighborhoods in Potomac without consideration of the democratic process. On this land exists the only organic farm in the Chesapeake region that produces and supplies organic seeds.
As an elected representative of my community, Leggett’s circumvention of citizens’ rights to engage in public dialogue about the impact a radical change in land use would have on our community is reprehensible and violates his duty as an elected government official.
If Leggett had been present at the county’s June 9 public meeting at the Potomac Community Center, he would have witnessed overwhelming citizen support for the educational and environmental purpose of the Brickyard Road organic farm, which has been a special part of our community for 31 years.
Leggett has an obligation to consider the Potomac Master Plan and allow debate on whether a radical change in land use violates that plan. I have joined a fight to expose the county executive’s dereliction of office by serving a special interest group. He owes this community due process and transparency.
Mary Kathleen Ernst
Potomac
