Letters to the Editor

Column fails to properly defend the 'chicken hawks'

Regarding 'Patriot shell games' (Thursday, Sept. 28, 2006):

Sean Hannity, was of age during several major military operations between Vietnam and the current Iraq War. Quite simply, he failed to put his formerly fit body where his fat mouth is. It's obvious why our resumes are loaded with community service experience. It's pretty cushy work. It can be time-consuming and physically demanding, but afterwards, we know that we've done a good deed.

We're hesitant to enlist because not only is military service unimaginably difficult, but there's also no guarantee that we would be "making the world a better place."

When you enlist, you agree to obey the Commander-in-Chief, and this President has failed us, strategically and ethically. No wonder Princetonians are refusing to be pawns in the mismanaged and unjust "War on Terror."

I refuse to enlist, but I cannot ignore the fact that others, who are disproportionately poor, will serve in my place. I suspect that many of us feel guilty about this injustice, especially during this particularly devastating war.

The answer is to elect politicians like Patrick Murphy, who will work to end the very war in which they served and will be more cautious with human lives. Sara Viola '08

Military lacks manpower because of prowar bombasts

Regarding 'Patriot shell games' (Thursday, Sept. 28, 2006):

It is good to know that Barry Caro is an expert on insurgent warfare, at least expert enough to expound that Iraq is no place for his beloved Sean Hannity. Perhaps if he read the causality notices, he might realize that a recent fatality in Iraq was a 57-year-old Staff Sergeant, 12 years older than Sean Hannity is today. Why are we sending troops of this advanced age "to fight insurgent armies that lack a front line, in which every truck driver must be ready to instantly transform into a rifleman?"

The reason is because we don't have enough ready manpower, thanks to the refusal of young pro-war bombasts like Caro to even entertain the notion of military service. If Caro had any dignity, he would walk down to the ROTC building and politely inquire if his services are needed or not. Michael Taylor '05