Peace Proposals and U.S. Bombing of Civilians

The tube shows our President anguished over the impact of civilian deaths in Iraq. It shows generals on the verge of revealing our intelligence capabilities in order to justify the targeting. We hear the military is apologetic about civilian deaths in Iraqi “bomb shelters.” And the (English-speaking) wailing of Iraqis and other Arabs, as recorded by (well-controlled) Western TV crews, makes the network news, along with CNN and the “MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour.”

May we wonder when the networks will question why the civilians were herded into a military facility; who ordered their placement (death--let’s call it what it is); who benefits from the deaths, and how is that benefit obtained? May we wonder, does one cry out in anguish on the occasion of a child’s death, in whole declarative sentences with good vocabulary and correct syntax in a foreign language?

I see no reason to be surprised at Saddam’s use of his own civilians, or the civilians of other countries, as human shields and indiscriminate targets. He’s done it before. He continues to target Scud missiles against the civilians of both enemy and non-combatant countries. My surprise is at media gullibility. I’d always thought reporters and editors had a more rounded education, questioned their sources more carefully and reported the news more accurately.

TOM WAGNER

Buena Park