Letters: Much missing from Kissinger eulogy; GOP playing politics as usual
Much missing from Kissinger eulogy
I read George Will’s column eulogizing Henry Kissinger, listing all the things he accomplished and why we should be grateful to him.
Nowhere in this list will you find the names of Cambodia and Laos, carpet bombing to an unbelievable degree two countries that were not at war with us. You will not find the name of Timor, where up to 25% of its population were slaughtered by Indonesia, with Kissinger acquiescing because Indonesia was an ally. You will not find the name of Bangladesh, which was ravaged by Pakistan with death, destruction and massive rapes of the population, with Kissinger cheering on because Pakistan was an ally. You will not find the names of Chile and Argentina, nor the Condor plan where political opponents were kidnapped, tortured and murdered with the U.S. aiding and abetting.
The total toll has been estimated at 3 million dead. Three million. Was he trying to beat Hitler’s record? Stalin’s record?
Why is George Will silent? Does he think those people do not matter? That they are no one he knows, and that anyway, they were not white?
I only ask that Mr. Will never mention the words liberty, democracy, western Christian values and the like as he sounds like a cannibal preaching veganism.
Adriana Ines Pena, State College
GOP playing politics as usual
The Republicans in Congress are at it again — playing politics in a crisis. They’re conditioning financial aid to Ukraine and Israel on managing the U.S. Southern border. Good luck with that. Both political parties have pretended to try to solve the immigration problem for years, but for political reasons, neither party has put forth serious proposals to do so. Republicans, in particular, love to cry and moan about what’s wrong but never offer practical solutions. They pulled the same stunt with abolishing Obamacare. Remember how they relentlessly bemoaned it as bad health care, but never offered an alternative — despite countless empty promises from Trump that they’d be rolling out “better” plans “any day now”? Now they’re standing in the way of aid to Ukraine and Israel. If Ukraine falls, Russian President Vladimir Putin benefits. If Israel falls, the ayatollahs in Iran benefit. But, of course, many Republicans have proved themselves traitors to the U.S. Constitution. What else can one call those who supported Trump, the would-be dictator, in his attempts to overthrow the government when he was fairly and deservedly defeated in the 2020 election? (Fox News even cut into a recent live Trump rally in Iowa to correct his “untruths” about the last election.) The wars in Ukraine and Israel are linked; Russia, Iran and Hamas are working together to destabilize democracies and upend the world order. And yet Republicans play politics with desperately needed aid to both countries. Whose side are they on anyway?
William J. Rothwell, State College
