Letters

What Happened at Haditha?

Did Marines murder unarmed Iraqi civilians and then cover up the slayings? While our story prompted wide agreement that anyone found guilty should be disciplined, readers also blamed the enemy's tactics and the Administration's policies for increasing the duress under which U.S. troops are serving

If the allegations of the slaughter of innocent Iraqi men, women and children are proved to be true, the Marines involved should be punished accordingly [June 12]. That American troops are stretched too thin and under incredible stress is not an excuse for murder. But the focus should be on the leaders who put our troops in this hellish situation in the first place and who stubbornly leave them there to fight a senseless war.

BILL BLACKWELL

Timonium, Md.

The investigation of the Haditha incident should also include the actions of Iraqis. Those killed may have watched as an explosive device was planted along the road and did not give warning as the Marine convoy approached. That collusion makes them as guilty as the ones who planted the bomb. The Marine and Army grunts who deal with the complacent and devious citizens of Iraq are being held to an impossible standard.

JAMES H. REHRIG

Nazareth, Pa.

What a raw deal for the U.S. military. We put our troops under extreme pressure day after day, with no relief, and then when they crack we want to try them for murder.

GERALD CAFFERTY

Angola, N.Y.

It saddens me that a lot of innocent people died in Haditha. The members of Kilo Company apparently abused their power while serving there. Perhaps they were confused because they can't distinguish friend from foe. It's as though the My Lai massacre had happened again, albeit on a smaller scale. One thing is sure: history does repeat itself.

JANE CARLA YU

Quezon City, the Philippines

When men and women are sent into unjustifiable wars, when soldiers see their buddies get blown to pieces for no good reason, when there is a vacuum in moral leadership, then decent people become capable of horrific acts. We thought we learned this painful lesson in Vietnam, but we are sadly revisiting it. The few bad eggs are not the brave men and women in the combat zones of Iraq but the cowardly men and women occupying the White House.

STEVEN LOCKTON

Irvine, Calif.

I forgive every single Marine who might be guilty of any wrongdoing in Haditha. How many of us could endure the genuine fear of being blown apart day after day without going berserk? The atrocity is not Haditha; it is the war.

EDWARD FRY

Laguna Beach, Calif.

Unanswered Questions

With all due respect, when Pope Benedict XVI visited the Nazi death camp Auschwitz and asked, "Why, Lord, did you remain silent? How could you tolerate all this?", he didn't ask the right question [June 12]. A small part of God was murdered along with every innocent man, woman and child in the Nazi death camps, and God's question with each dying breath was "Why, humankind, do you remain silent? How can you tolerate all this?" God is still asking.

ESTHER BLUMENFELD

Tucson, Ariz.

The Pope's question brings up the eternal theological question: Does God micromanage the universe, or did he or she put humans on this earth with the freedom to make mistakes and the necessity to live with the consequences?

ROBERTA M. ETHEREDGE

Sunnyvale, Calif.

Watch Your Language

As a naturalized U.S. citizen originally from Eastern Europe, I commend Charles Krauthammer for his excellent Essay in favor of making English the official language of the U.S. [June 12]. Bilingualism might have the effect of dividing the country. I sometimes feel even more like a foreigner when I encounter people who have no intention of learning English and assimilating into this great society. Uncontrolled immigration is the major contributing factor to bilingualism. Although I am an immigrant, I still disapprove of our government's irresponsible immigration policy.

DEIAN STANKOV

Clarksburg, Md.

English has been amusingly defined as the result of Norman men-at-arms trying to pick up Saxon barmaids. Its pragmatic, flexible nature has always been one of its great strengths. Make English the official language, and we will lose that strength. Why? Because then we must officially define what English is and is not. The French did this with their mother tongue, and what was once the international language of diplomacy has become increasingly unimportant.

JOSEPH POWER

Mountain View, Calif.

Hooray for Krauthammer! I grew up with a mother who didn't speak English. Bilingual government services allow parents to avoid learning it. But it is devastating when children are forced to be the family's interpreters. Try having to miss class because you have to interpret for your mother at her gynecologist's. Let's make it hard to function in our society without knowing English, and keep children in school, where they belong.

MARCIA DEL MAR

Calabasas, Calif.

As a bilingual teacher in El Paso, Texas, for 20 years, I found that the drive to learn English is strong, and that by the second or third generation, most immigrant Hispanics are English speaking and, better, bilingual.

PATRICIA R. CAMPBELL

Albuquerque, N.M.

Dinner at Your House?

Thank you for the article "The Magic of the Family Meal" [June 12]. I never dined with my family as a child, but even though it sounds corny, I loved going over to my friends' houses for what I called the "please-pass-the-potatoes meal." I grew up with a single mother who was in graduate school, and eating together was not always an option. Now I make dinner a special time for my family to share and discuss the day's events.

DAYNA CORONADO

North Hollywood, Calif.

Your series of articles on eating smart made a good case for healthful home-cooked foods. What it didn't address was the downside: someone has to actually cook those healthy foods. Cooking is tedious, repetitive and time-consuming. The last thing I want to do when I come home from a long day at work, tired and hungry, is wash, chop and prepare vegetables. And lest anyone blame my attitude on not being a stay-at-home mother, I don't like cooking on weekends either.

CHARLOTTE HOTCHKISS

Mabelvale, Ark.