Thomas’ silencing further obscures Middle East truths
Re: “Helen Thomas (finally) retires,” June 8
Facts were not at the heart of 90-year-old White House correspondent Helen Thomas’ public condemnation and sudden retirement. Rather, she fell victim to the pragmatic political “truths” that have been manufactured over the years to obscure reality in the Middle East. These facts are available in a few arcane places such as “The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy” (2007), by distinguished political scientists John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt. On page 96, the authors quote Israel’s first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, who spoke candidly about modern Israel’s origins:
“If I was an Arab leader I never would make terms with Israel. This is natural: We have taken their country. Sure, God promised it to us, but what does that matter to them? Our God is not theirs. … There has been anti-Semitism, the Nazis, Hitler, Auschwitz, but was that their fault? They only see one thing: We have come here and stolen their country.”
Mearsheimer and Walt duly note that “we are unlikely to hear [a similar sentiment] expressed [today] by anyone” in politics. The speed with which the White House condemned Thomas’ remarks as “offensive and reprehensible” confirms the authors’ assessment.
The speed with which Thomas’ syndicated column was “retired” by Hearst Newspapers means we won’t be hearing the sentiment expressed by many more journalists, either. Her silencing is further evidence of America being dragged into decline by special interests, both foreign and domestic.
James A. Montanye
Falls Church
You’re doing a heckuva job, Obama
Re: “Obama brings Nixonian twist to oil spill,” editorial, June 7
I’m still wondering where Federal Emergency Management Agency is hiding. We’d know the answer if George W. Bush were still around.
Since the current deepwater oil spill occurred outside the jurisdiction of the states, the president should have immediately taken charge and appointed an executive to manage the disaster. He seems to have more or less ignored the matter and simply said that BP was responsible. The Coast Guard admiral was finally designated to run the show, and he’s doing a great job.
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal has been calling for equipment to block the oil from his jurisdiction, but FEMA doesn’t seem to be in the picture. He finally got some help, but not as much as he asked for — or was needed.
Jindal also wanted the Army Corps of Engineers to dredge and erect sand barriers to save Louisiana’s shores and marshes. Before taking emergency action, the corps wanted to study the ultimate effect on the Gulf. A federal executive who’s really in charge would have told the corps to act first and study later.
Joseph P. Carrigan
Fairfax
Who was the victim again?
Re: “Crime History: Kennedy cousin guilty of murder,” June 7
I read this article twice and still can’t figure out who killed whom. Was Michael Skakel bludgeoned to death, or Martha Moxley?
S. Elyse Wolford
Washington
Editor’s note: The article should have read: “On the eve of Halloween in 1975, Moxley was bludgeoned to death with a golf club in Greenwich, Conn.” The Examiner regrets the error.
Correction: Mark Tapscott’s column in Thursday’s editions should have identified Federal Trade Commission spokesman Peter Kaplan as a former Reuters reporter.
