Top 10 Letters

–Allan Antliff

Claudia Winkler responds: Allan Antliff’s letter perfectly supports my remark that some professors are less than meticulous with their sources. The opinion column on which he says he based his claims does not substantiate the assertion that Colin Powell, or his “handlers,” or any other American sought the covering up of the “Guernica” tapestry at the United Nations. On the contrary, the Maureen Dowd column he cites, like my reporting, traces that action to “the U.N.” It ascribes a vague interpretation of it–“too much of a mixed message”–to “diplomats.” Even the columnist doesn’t pretend to present the smear of Powell as anything but her own trademark insinuation.

To be clear, here is what Dowd wrote: “Mr. Powell can’t very well seduce the world into bombing Iraq surrounded on camera by shrieking and mutilated women, men, children, bulls and horses.”

*2*
As the individual who has oversight of the mail processing and delivery for all of our ground forces in both Kuwait and Iraq as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom, I was initially both disappointed and concerned by Jonathan Foreman’s The Scandal of the Army’s Mail). However, regardless of the reasons, the soldiers’ discussed in the article were not getting their mail–a situation that had been rectified as Foreman’s article went to press.

In his article Foreman discusses a deployed unit, the 54 Engineer Battalion, that experienced problems with their mail. This is a serious issue and I would like to shed a bit of light on the situation. This unit was assigned to Kuwait prior to the commencement of hostilities and during that period, it was reassigned from one major command to another and because of it, its mail had to be rerouted and delayed. Under normal circumstances, their mail would have caught up with them in a relatively timely fashion. However, for operational reasons, and at the direction of the combatant commanders, the flow of mail was stopped for the units going into combat in Iraq just as the war started. It was not reinitiated until the combat situation stabilized roughly three-plus weeks later. At that time convoys were able to go forward and the soldiers were in a relatively stabilized environment.

During the period of time the mail was being held, it continued to flow into Kuwait where it was broken down and sorted by APO (zip code) and unit. The soldiers and Marines in our Joint Mail Terminal then stored the mail in 20 foot containers that we would be able to place on the back of flatbed trucks and ship north when the combatant commanders determined the situation was stable enough for mail to flow roughly 350 miles through the combat zone. When, as Captain Watkins in his quote indicated “. . . it’s not just us, the whole 3rd ID hasn’t been getting its mail,” he was correct and it was done for operational reasons. In the article Master Sergeant Ruehl expressed concern that mail was not delivered when units first stopped for a breather before the move to the Karbala gap. He also was right. Although consideration was given to moving mail forward at that time, the decision was made that because of the on-going combat situation, the priority would be to send food, ammunitions, and other logistics items forward. The decision was made to flow the mail forward on April 11. Since that date, well over 210 connexes (roughly 1.6 million pounds) of mail has been forwarded to our soldiers and Marines in Iraq. We currently are sending roughly 175,000 pounds per day forward. There is no question that in prioritizing the flow of mail in theater, the first priority is to move mail to our Soldiers and Marines engaged in hostiles in Iraq.

I believe we have rectified the situation outlined above and with well over 210,000 U.S. forces in Kuwait and Iraq, the situation Foreman discussed was unique and far from the “scandal” he made it out to be. Overall, the mail flow has been very good here in theater and as our military population has grown, we have taken numerous steps to increase our capabilities in providing this key support. Barely 90 days ago, as this theater’s strength was just starting to skyrocket, mail volume averaged 35-40,000 lbs. per day. Where initially mail was being processed from a small bay in a warehouse in Doha Kuwait, today there are two 24-hour postal terminals processing over 350,000 lbs. of mail per day–a level which is expected to continue to grow. A third terminal in the vicinity of Baghdad is currently in the planning stages. Our postal support population has also grown significantly to include not only active duty and reserve component soldiers and Marines but also contracted civilian support based on the projected volumes of mail. Additionally, the United States Postal Service is doing considerably more sorting of the mail while it is still in the United States, enabling us to move it to units faster once it gets in country. Our operation is far from the six person detachment referenced in the article.

Foreman quotes soldiers who told him that “everything is coming in by boat” and that “we’re missing 15 MILVANs (containers) . . .” Neither of these situations are factual. In that vein I’d like to give your readers a little insight into how the first mail went into Iraq. The first shipment consisted of 10 containers that were pushed through hostile territories a distance similar to that between Washington D.C. and New York. It was similar to driving along I-95 during rush hour traffic with enemy forces firing at you and then delivering your mail to a town with 67,000 folks without a mail warehouse, established routes, or a set of locations of all the inhabitants. Postal soldiers and unit mail handlers worked out of the back of MILVANs and trucks to put that very mail in the hands of soldiers within three days. Mail handlers from the 3rd Infantry Division’s postal units made the long dangerous trek in the 3rd Infantry Division convoys and brought as much mail for the troops as their fit in to their vehicles–and the flow hasn’t stopped.

I commend Foreman for clearly articulating the importance of mail to our deployed service members. Few things impact a unit’s morale more than mail. Letters are not left behind on a nightstand or on a cot when soldiers go into battle. They are taken along and read over and over. A small piece of correspondence from home means the world to these brave young men and women who fight for freedom. However I do not believe there has been any “shameful total breakdown of the Army’s postal system,” rather I believe the system has grown and although not perfect, I believe the situations Foreman identified are unique. Our postal workers are, for the most part, active and reserve service members who themselves are deployed–just like those they support. They understand the significance of what they do and the importance of their mission. The unit Foreman reported from is an exception. Considering the distances, changing locations, and lack of established “post offices,” I firmly believe we are succeeding in getting mail, but the system is certainly not fool-proof. We will continue to take every action possible to improve the situation and better support our service members. All involved take it personally and do all they can do to improve our efficiencies and “deliver.”

–Sean J. Byrne, Brigadier General, U.S. Army, Commander, 3rd PERSCOM

*3*
Much like those who predicted quite plausible disasters yet refuse to admit error, Jonathan V. Last too, elevates hope over experience (Once More, with Feeling).

Have the pro-anybody-but-America types admitted that maybe the appearance of boat people after we pulled out of Vietnam indicated that the communists were really evil? Have they concluded that deploying intermediate range nuclear weapons in Western Europe may have prompted nuclear arms reductions? Have they conceded that, just maybe, Soviet victory was not inevitable and that we had a chance to win the Cold War and free Eastern Europe? Have they admitted that the Muslim world did not erupt after liberating Kuwait in 1991? Have they concluded that expanding NATO would not lead to Russian rearmament and hostility? Have they recognized that taking down the Taliban would not enflame the Muslim world? Have they seen that talking to North Korea and trusting them leads to nuclear weapons?

Truly, I admire Last’s optimistic spirit.

–Brian J. Dunn

*4*
There’s an additional reason why all those lost artifacts don’t matter: We can’t learn anything from them anyway. (Larry Miller, In Addition to Which, They’ll Probably Need New Docents) Archaeology and anthropology are complete wastes of time. After all, we already know:

(1) The Rich exploit The Poor
(2) Men exploit Womyn
(3) Whites exploit all non-Whites
(4) The human race is a cancer on the planet

There! Who needs a few moldy old pot shards when it’s all so plain and simple?

–Jim Wilson

*5*
In his 1991 All Over Again?, Irwin M. Stelzer writes, “In short, those who . . . must now take backseats to the hard men who specialize in studying economic indicators.”

I like Stelzer’s contribution to humor. I’ve never thought of myself or any of the 400 economists I work with as a “hard men”–this immediately gets printed and posted to my door and circulated internally.

–Michael J. Donnelly Jr., Senior Economist, Global Insight

*6*
Given their remarks, you’d think some of the liberal columnists were rooting not for the Iraqi people, but for the Baath government.

Never was a breath of oxygen or a blot of ink wasted on celebrating these people’s jubilance over their brand-new personal freedoms after the political (if not actual) death of the murderer who ruled them.

Perhaps a simplistic conclusion on my part, but these folks can’t help but support totalitarian rule. They cannot and will not celebrate individual freedom, but only their own political victories.

–Peter Byrnes Jr.

*7*
Like Joel Engel I have lost some very old friends who were unable to understand why I felt their recent antiwar protests were misguided and pro-tyranny (Everything Old Is French Again). Although I was willing to tolerate their position, their ability to tolerate disagreement seems to have been jettisoned.

I remember Jacques Chirac as an unparalleled reactionary, the one who reinstituted nuclear testing in the South Pacific and whose secret service blew up and sank the Rainbow Warrior (not that I can find much common ground with Greenpeace anymore). I can’t understand why my friends would align themselves with him, or with the ex-KGB Vladimir Putin, virulently racist Arabs, or Islamic totalitarians. I think Engle’s hypothesis–that they have ossified in the ways of their youth–is the kindest explanation.

–Dave Walter

*8*
I was born in France in 1944, and had always wanted to be buried in the churchyard cemetery in the little town where I was born, overlooking the Lake of Annecy. No longer. Any old piece of American dirt will do fine. Like Joel Engel, I have been cured of Francophilia.

Today, all viewpoints that grant moral or ethical standing to America are dismissed by charges of greed and hegemony. It isn’t a big step from that to embracing the posturings of a weak, envious, self-righteous France, even when its leader’s vision is that of superpower blocs contending around the world a la Orwell’s “1984.”

–Christian Wyser-Pratte

*9*
The job approval number never converts to the electoral results. Clinton’s job approval was usually in the sixties but he did not get a majority of the vote in 1996.

It’s too late to rescue the economy for 2004, the job numbers are really going to sting George W. Bush, and it’s going to be easy for Democrats to compare 2004 to any year of Clinton. Hillary Clinton is making a huge mistake not getting in–maybe there won’t be a solid front runner and the party will have to turn to her. Maybe John Edwards and John Kerrey will split the party regionally.

Dallas employment numbers are bad and getting worse. Bush could get hurt here. The other factor is no “Nader” this time.

–Will Wills

*10*
It is not an infringement of one’s First Amendment to be disinvited to a party or function based on one’s opinions. (David Skinner, Stardumb: Professional Athletes v. Hollywood and Music) No one has shown up to haul Susan Sarandon off to prison for her viewpoints. She and Tim Robbins need a fifth grade social studies book to relearn what they have obviously forgotten. It the democratic right of the United Way and the Baseball Hall of Fame not to have their organizations used as political pulpits.

–Mary McCoig