Letters to the Editor
The Post and Courier
Charleston, SC
(Published October 25, 2006) The 2003 invasion of Iraq began while I was winding up a two-month tour of South Africa. South Africans I was in contact with, well educated, professional people, asked why the United States had invaded Iraq. I recalled those early evening discussions while reading State of Denial, Bob Woodward’s 14th book since Watergate and his third book on the war on terror. This insightful, comprehensive and diligently pursued book full of first-hand accounts (and almost 30 pages of source notes) is a tremendous addition to the body of historical knowledge required to answer “why.” It is even more valuable to understanding what we did right and what was wrong. This tragically incomplete adventure is still an on-going tale, however, and it leaves one wondering, at the end of 2006 and State of Denial, if we are facing a Vietnam-like-ending where it is crazy to stay in and we don’t know how to get out.
I believe, however, after finishing all 560 pages of State of Denial, that if the men and women in Washington at the highest political, military, diplomatic, and intelligence levels who were in charge of this Iraq excursion devoted half the time to solving problems as they did fighting and arguing with each other and buckling under to one man – Donald Rumsfeld – and being afraid to bring bad news to the Oval Office, a “Vietnam-like-ending” would not hang over us.
Judging by the swift response to yesterday's blog by five friends mail is something on everyone's mind. Here are their comments:(1) What an interesting undertaking! Sounds quite familiar, but I'm jealous of your personal correspondence. I receive very little any more, sadly. Mostly thank-you notes or invitations. I used to maintain voluminous correspondences with many people--but that was before e-mail. I still have most of those old letters--they're more precious by the year.
(2) Only 4 bills!!!
(3) With the exception that personal correspondence, other than the cards my wife and her sisters, some of Hallmark's most cherished customers, exchange, has been almost entirely replaced by email among our friends and relatives, I think that the proportions would be about the same here. And I really do get dismayed of thinking of all the mailing expense various charities and causes must incur and of how much better those funds could be used.
But at least you're not standing in the mud, dog excrement and cigarette butts that surround our neighborhood stanchion box cluster as you sort it out. as we once discussed before. My favorite mail delivery system was some years ago, when I lived in a small town that had curbside residential delivery and three times a week trash pick-up at the curb. I could scoop out the mailbox and then stand over my trash can without having to ever carry the majority of it indoors.
(4) I could get a hernia carrying out the throw aways.
(5) Archie, this sounds just like the mail I receive.
I've been wondering for some time about the breakdown of the mail I receive. The Postman who covers our street looks upon me as one of the stalwarts of his long-range retirement program. In September I decided to keep a record of what came and it held few surprises. There were 25 requests for donations of money to causes far and wide; 29 requests to subscribe or renew magazine subscriptions; 20 offers of new credit cards; 24 pieces of other unsolicited bulk (read junk) mail; four bills; and 18 pieces of personal correspondence. These figures do not include the various magazines and professional journals, weekly, monthly and quarterly which come regularly, nor the newspapers and catalogs which we have requested.
