Dellums on House Intelligence Panel

Cal Thomas’ Column Right (“Will America’s Secrets be Safe in Congress?” Commentary, Feb. 14) belongs in a publication the caliber of the National Enquirer, not in The Times. Thomas’ pretext for writing the article was to voice his concerns about House Speaker Thomas Foley’s recent appointments to the House Intelligence Committee. The majority of the column, however, was devoted to embittered personal attacks against one appointee to that committee, 20-year House member Ronald V. Dellums (D-Berkeley).

Instead of supporting his opinion using facts and logic, Thomas resorted to right-wing grandstanding, making sure to include all the appropriate liberal-bashing buzzwords: Communist, radical and from Berkeley (gasp). Thomas presents his “evidence” that Dellums is a threat to U.S. intelligence by listing actions such as opposing U.S. support of the Nicaraguan Contras, opposing U.S. intervention in Panama and Grenada and assisting the brother of an El Salvadoran FMLN leader to give a speech in the U.S. Thomas fails to mention that none of the actions taken by Dellums were illegal, nor did they involve the passing of U.S. secrets.

If Thomas thinks that members of congressional committees must all have exactly the same perspective on the issues they address (which, for Thomas, means his perspective), then what is the use of convening a committee? If a right-wing House member who had a history of supporting repressive regimes such as those in Guatemala, El Salvador and South Africa were to be nominated for the Intelligence Committee, I can guarantee that not a word of complaint would part Thomas’ lips.

KRISTINA KVIEN

Pasadena