Percentage of Latinos in Gulf
Prof. Rodolfo F. Acuna writes (“Fighting War on Backs of the Poor,” Commentary, Feb. 8) that the percentage of Latinos among America’s combat forces in the Persian Gulf may be debatable but the war’s effect on domestic injustices is not. House Government Operations Committee Chairman John Conyers announced that, according to a recent study by the General Accounting Office, 20% of U.S. forces in the Gulf are black.
How high would this figure be if the question were phrased properly, what percentage of divisional combat units (i.e., front-line fighting men) are black, brown, yellow and red?
It must begin to be apparent to all Americans that minority Americans have contributed disproportionately to our country in every war and are still ready, willing and able to contribute more. Their past contributions and their significant presence now in the Arabian desert mandate that President Bush assign a measure of priority to eliminating a pervasive and immoral domestic disorder as he is calling for a new and moral world order.
DAVID K. CARLISLE
Los Angeles
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