May 31, 2006

Ellis Henican

Tell me again why we're there.

It's four Memorial Days and counting since "Mission Accomplished." We still have 132,000 American troops in Iraq. A million of our men and women have served by now, giving of themselves in tragic and extraordinary ways. Yet the insurgency is growing bolder - not fading away.

Tell me again why we're there.

Already, 2,465 Americans have been killed. Another 18,184 have been wounded. No one knows how many Iraqi civilians have died - 30,000? 40,000? - in this costly effort to save them.

Tell me again why we're there.

To read the rest of Ellis Henican's MUST READ piece go to this link: http://tinyurl.com/qnpem

An Outstanding Letter to Newsday:

Rein in officials

The Bush administration is guilty of terrorism toward its own people and the world. The terrorism of fear, abuse of political power and military might is the worst kind. It tries to hide itself behind a mask of democracy and national security. We all see right through that.

A state of unaccountability has developed in this country. If we do not act to correct the failure of the system of checks and balances, we will stand on a precipice of a collapse of the United States and our Constitution as we have always known it. The rampant hypocrisy, corruption and disregard for democratic principles is seriously damaging our image as a world leader in promoting democracy throughout the world. The bulk of our elected officials is ignoring the laws and the will of the people.

President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney must be held accountable for their lawless actions.

Jeri Velasquez

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