Capitol Hearings

To the Editors:

Your cover story conveyed the spirit of that most unusual week in which Lieut. Colonel Oliver North appeared at the Iran-contra hearings ((NATION, July 20)). Along with many others, I was converted to North's side by the end of the first day. I realize I may be overlooking the issues, but for me it was a relief to cheer for this charismatic all-American Marine in his struggle against a fickle, vacillating, unpredictable Congress.

Scott M. Wilson

Dallas

I am grateful for the opportunity to hear North explain his side of the story. How foolish he makes a lot of people look for judging him before listening to him.

Renee L. Makowski

East Lansing, Mich.

The issue is not North's sincerity; it is whether the President or his staff deliberately set out to circumvent U.S. laws. The Congress we elected voted to cut off funds to the contra rebellion. No amount of sincerity justifies breaking the law.

Catherine Skapura

Lafayette, Calif.

I am a Catholic priest serving a nine-month sentence for protesting the training of contras in the U.S. It saddens and angers me to see North and Admiral John Poindexter wrap themselves in the U.S. flag and call a wrong right and a lie truth.

(The Rev.) Roy Bourgeois

Oakdale, La.

Your lead story on North implies that the vast majority of Americans who watched the hearings were hoodwinked by a performance that played on American sensitivities. What I saw and admired was an honest, patriotic, courageous man who answered insinuating and prosecutory questions in an intelligent manner.

Hugh Wilson

Houston

I have watched the elevation of Oliver North to sainthood with a mixture of dismay and disgust. If a week of self-righteous testimony is all that is necessary to make an American folk hero, then this country is in trouble.

Kevin Hillstrom

Royal Oak, Mich.

North may have told the truth, and he may be a scapegoat for his superiors. Nevertheless, his defense that he was just following orders has been indefensible since the Nuremberg trials of 1945-46.

Glenda C. Flueck

Siegenburg, West Germany

I do not understand why people criticize the Congressmen who made impassioned statements during the Iran-contra hearings. Would Edmund Burke or James Madison have sat meekly by in similar circumstances? Only in the course of investigations into a Watergate or an Iranscam do Americans have the opportunity to hear their lawmakers expound their political philosophies.

Lorelei H. Goode

Greensboro, N.C.

I have on only one occasion asked my congressional representatives to vote in a particular way, and that was on the issue of aid to the contras. When aid was indeed denied, I had the exhilarating sense that I had effectively contributed to our democratic system. My faith in this process has been shaken by the revelations of the Iran-contra affair. Despite the sincerity and eloquence of Lieut. Colonel Oliver North, I agree with Indiana Representative Lee Hamilton's assessment that our own democratic principles have been subverted in the effort to secure a democracy in Nicaragua.

Susan Holmes

Fort Washington, Md.