Secretary of State Baker
Secretary of State James A. Baker III gave Syrian President Hafez Assad the green light to wipe out the last vestige of Christian independence in Lebanon. As a result, 700 Christian Arabs were slaughtered in Beirut without even a murmur from Washington.
A vivid description of this cold-blooded massacre by the Syrians, including the massive looting, robbing and raping of women in the overrun Christian community, appeared in the European press, but there was hardly a word in our own media.
Then the Syrians, encouraged by our selective inattention, went on to murder an “up and coming” and respected Christian leader, Danny Chamoun, killing his wife and children in the same action.
Baker, conveniently, had blinders on.
As badly as he had misjudged Saddam Hussein, the Butcher of Baghdad, our secretary of state went to Damascus to curry the favor of Assad, recognized as one of the world’s leading heroin and hashish peddlers, as well as that notorious terrorist bandit who counts among the notches on his gun the destruction of Pan Am Flight 103 with 189 Americans aboard.
How can we sink so low, Mr. Baker, in this quagmire of immorality? A little lower and we shall surely lick the dust.
JULIAN WHITE
Los Angeles
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