Letters

U.S. fear justified by Japanese attack

Gann Matsuda states: “… the fear of an attack on the
West Coast by Japan … (was) unfounded and based entirely on
racism, wartime hysteria and economic greed” (“Rights
must not be suspended in war,” Daily Bruin, Viewpoint,
Jan. 25).

I don’t suppose that a Sunday morning sneak attack on
Pearl Harbor might have shaped some of the wartime hysteria? With
no declaration of war, Japan dropped bombs on the United
States.

Let’s not forget that Japan’s ambassadors were in
Washington at the time negotiating peace ““ and that Japan was
aggressively expanding its empire westward ““ long after
attacking China. Let’s not forget that in 1940, Japan allied
itself with Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini.

Internment was wrong, but to imply Americans had no reasons to
fear a Japanese invasion is outright lying and political
revision.

Jeffrey Abelson New York City

Poll shows people support violence

Yara Dahud’s letter (“Palestinians
don’t teach children hatred,” Daily Bruin,
Viewpoint, Jan. 14) decrying Ziv Kaufman’s submission
criticizing the Palestinian education system for inciting violence
(“Mideast peace hindered by education,” Daily Bruin,
Viewpoint, Jan. 10) misses the point.

A poll conducted in August by the Palestinian Center for Public
Opinion reported 81.1 percent of Palestinians stated that they
support suicide bombings against Israeli civilians (Jerusalem Post,
Aug. 28, 2001). According to the same poll, approximately 60
percent of Palestinians do not want their leadership to engage in
peace talks with Israel.

With broad public support within the West Bank and Gaza for the
killing of civilians as a means to further Palestinian political
goals, it hardly matters what the Palestinian schools teach their
children.

Clark Landry

Treatment fits the crime in Cuba

I am writing in response to Shirin Vossoughi’s column
denouncing the United States’ treatment of detainees at
Guantanomo Bay, Cuba (“Camp
X-ray “˜detainees’ deserve rights,” Daily
Bruin, Viewpoint, Jan. 24).

Vossoughi believes the U.S. has “crossed the line”
in trying to capture, prosecute, and imprison terrorists.
Furthermore, she claims that American troops have mistreated them,
abused them and exposed them to atrocious conditions that violate
international laws.

The prisoners being held at Camp X-Ray in Cuba are not ordinary
prisoners. They have been interrogated and selected among the
captives of the war on terrorism as the most dangerous suspects.
Knowledge of future attacks, past crimes or current operations
these prisoners may have is an essential element in the campaign
against terrorism.

Vossoughi’s comment that the prisoners are being treated
inhumanely is completely wrong. What she fails to account for is
the ruthless nature of these prisoners; one of the prisoners has
already bit a U.S. serviceman. We should also remember the
prison uprising in Mazar-e-Shariff, where a CIA agent was beaten
and kicked to death by al-Qaeda prisoners of war.

These men have proven their utter disregard for their own lives;
their goal is the murder of as many Americans as
possible. Does the preservation of the lives of American
servicemen not justify handcuffing and hooding suspected
terrorists?

Vossoughi also writes about the terrible conditions in the
camp. If anyone has been to Cuba in the winter, they can
attest that the weather is more than bearable. All of the
detainees receive warm showers, toiletries and three meals a
day. “Breakfast, for example, typically consists of
bread, cream cheese, a pastry, an orange and water”
(Washington Post, Jan. 23).

Respectfully, the U.S. needs to thoroughly and swiftly deal with
the detainees but not at the expense of the war on
terrorism. There must be a concerted effort to question, probe
and if necessary, punish the suspected terrorists in a humane
manner. Those who believe the rights of suspected terrorists
supercede our rights of being secure need to re-evaluate their
priorities.

John Ly Third-year Political science