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Posted August 13, 2001
Deception
[Regarding Nebojsa Malic's columns:]
If you'd like to be regarded as a reputable news-person ... you need to bring some objectivity to the story.
The biggest reason why the Albanians are fighting is because the boiling point of intolerable oppression has been reached. In the absence of oppression of the Albanian people, these wars would not have existed.
...As intelligent as you sound, you succumb to the most over-utilized Slavic strategy: deception.
~ L. Berisha
Nebojsa Malic replies:
Albanian
militants always claim that they are fighting oppression, but never
offer any credible evidence. Instead, they expect the rest of the world
to take their word for it, as an a priori truth. When someone refuses
to take their statements on faith, they usually invoke political correctness
in the guise of "objectivity."
Thing is, actions speak louder than platitudes. Just over the past two years, over 250,000 non-Albanians in Kosovo and 46,000 Macedonians have been ethnically cleansed from their homes. This is not, cannot be, a "fight for freedom."
Mindless Babble
[Regarding
"Congressman Paul
Denounces Unauthorized Airstrike Against Iraq" (August 10):]
Instead of criticizing what is being done to keep a warmonger in check, how about some ideas on what we should do to keep the peace. It's so easy to criticize the actions of others instead of stating real solutions to very complex problems. Or would you allow S.H. free rein in the Middle East? Let's hear some solutions instead of mindless babble.
~ B. Bartlett
The "Backtalk" editor replies:
You missed the main point of Congressman Paul's short statement: that the airstrike against Iraq was unconstitutional because it was not authorized by Congress. How about some ideas on what we should do to defend the US Government's constitutional division of powers. A government that violates its own Constitution is in no position to "keep the peace."
Numbers
[Regarding Alexander Cockburn's column (August 2), "Blueprints for Colombian War":]
Cockburn writes:
"While the FARC peasant army has doubled over the past decade, it still only numbers about 7,000 fighters - 2,000 fewer than the paramilitary death squads."
But every mainstream news article I read puts the FARC at between 16,000 and 18,000 active fighters and the AUC at 8500. And then later he says that the guerillas have slightly more fighters than the AUC, which is still not quite correct, I think
~ George, Locombia.org