Media and Iran Arms Scandal

How long have the media had the Iran/ contra scandal dominating the news? I’m not going to count the months, but I think that it’s been too long.

It seems to me that the media just want a good scandal. I’m not saying that the American public should not be informed about pertinent national and international issues, but the media have made some shaky speculations regarding the Iran/contra scandal. I’m tired of the media playing Inspector Clouseau. Why don’t they just let investigations proceed and evaluate the accumulated facts at the end?

All the media have managed to do is turn the federal government upside down. That’s not what a powerful nation like the United States needs. It’s detrimental to foreign public opinion of the United States. We look like unorganized idiots. I’m sure that our adversaries are laughing at us. This entire ordeal will eventually damage our self-esteem as a nation if it continues.

Do the media expect the federal government to tell the public everything? If the government did, we would never survive as a nation. Security is essential; whether or not it sounds good is irrelevant and ridiculous. Expecting that every move the federal government makes be disclosed to the public is simply too idealistic.

I think that we should give everyone involved in the Iran/contra scandal a break for a while; let the investigations proceed without any further delay. Speed is obviously not the ultimate answer in this case, or we would have had answers a long time ago. We will get the answer we want in due time. The media don’t have the answers; they only get answers from others, so why don’t they wait?

SABRINA Y. LANE

La Jolla