Defending the Marines; Obama’s deep-sea drilling moratorium; cleaning up college sports

No final landing

Re “Marine tactic under review,” June 21

It is foolish for anyone, including Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, to question whether there is a need for amphibious operations in the future. The concern that guided missiles make such operations too risky is not valid. The Japanese hurled thousands of guided missiles in the form of Kamikaze suicide planes at us at Okinawa and failed to stop the U.S. from taking the island.

After the Soviet Union developed its atomic bomb, it was thought that amphibious landings were no longer possible, and that prediction proved just as foolish. As long as nations have coastlines to defend there will be a need for the U.S. to have amphibious forces.

During my Marine Corps career I participated in over 100 landings, from Korea to Lebanon. I haven’t done one in over 40 years, but I can still plan and execute one in my sleep.

Jack Allen

Pacific Palisades

The Times does indeed conjure up images of the past. It isn’t the past, however, that Marines are interested in when it comes to employing U.S. military power from the sea.

Marines, more than the article gives credit, recognize the realities of sea-based operations and the threat of “sophisticated guided missiles.” A better question than critic Andrew Krepinevich’s “Can the effect [of amphibious capability] justify the … cost?” might be “Can we afford not to have an amphibious capability?”

U.S. forces have been spoiled in recent years by overseas deployments that have been administrative in nature. Sophisticated guided missiles are as dangerous to airfields and port facilities that cannot move as they are to ships at sea that can.

This summer, Marines will conduct an experimental amphibious operation that will demand expertise in the kinds of operations they have perfected in Iraq’s Anbar and Afghanistan’s Helmand provinces. The operation’s purpose will be to identify capability gaps, in order to embark on modernizing this longstanding U.S. strategic requirement.

Before World War II, conventional wisdom declared amphibious operations impossible. Once again, Marines don’t agree and, once again, we plan to do something about it.

V.J. Goulding Jr.

Quantico, Va.

The writer is director, Experiment Division, Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory.

Continuing deep-sea drilling

Re “Moratorium’s day in court,” June 22, and “Court upends U.S. ban on deep wells,” June 23

The fallacious reasoning of the opponents to a six-month moratorium on deep water drilling appalls. Saying that it will “shut down a whole industry and ruin thousands of lives to punish one company” misses the point. The moratorium is not to punish BP but to prevent another environmental disaster.

The Times reported that the plaintiffs said that “there is nothing to suggest that deep-water drilling ‘is more dangerous today than it was on the day immediately preceding the tragic incident involving the Deepwater Horizon.’” Exactly! Deep-water drilling was just as dangerous the day before … and the same sort of catastrophe is possible again unless the causes are addressed and remedied.

Hey, folks (and judge), it’s our country at risk. Only 33 out of thousands of wells have been affected, and only for a limited period.

It’s terrible for a lot of people, but more terrible is the risk of further damage to the gulf environment and to the people whose livings depend on fishing, shrimping and tourists.

Nancy Palter

Los Angeles

One would think that the moratorium on deep-sea drilling in the Gulf of Mexico would be a slam-dunk of an idea.

Nope. Louisiana politicians believe that suspending the moratorium is going to save jobs. What about lives? What about their coastline? Hurricane season has started.

Smells like Kingfish to me.

David Forster

Torrance

Re “Oil spill stress begins taking its toll,” June 21

Thanks for so eloquently expressing the deep pain felt by average folks who are directly affected by the oil-rig tragedy. I felt such sadness reading what one seafood purveyor said of the fishermen: “I never seen so many grown men cry in my life.... Tough, tough men.... Just break down and cry.” And then I felt anger.

Psychiatrist Elmore Rigamer, who is working to help ease the stress, said that “this was just a failure of corporate ethics in terms of profit, really, overriding responsibility.”

This broken record is becoming tedious: savings and loans, Enron, Wall Street, Love Canal, Exxon, ad infinitum.

Responsible ethical behavior should be the operating norm for corporations and politicians. Average people can be disastrously affected by foul-ups — whether deliberate or accidental. When will corporate giants and public servants honor the trust of Main Street Americans?

Charity Gourley

Santa Barbara

Fiorina and Juneteenth

Re “Fiorina gets mixed reactions from Juneteenth crowd in Leimert Park,” June 20

Senate candidate Carly Fiorina, after all her talk about “taking Washington back,” has some nerve to show up at a Juneteenth event in South L.A., throw on an African scarf and stroll around with a campaign photographer and videographer in tow.

Did she even know what Juneteenth was about — commemorating the end of slavery — before she got there? Nothing like using those photos and footage for the campaign later on. Be careful not to blast Obama here.

So what’s next from the GOP? Sarah Palin at the Essence Music Festival? John Boehner gets a haircut at Magnificent Brothers on Crenshaw?

Despite whatever these folks’ campaign advisers tell them, a lot of us in the African American community have been watching the GOP insanity quietly and carefully since the presidential election. We obviously have our own unique take on the situation.

The next time a GOP candidate decides to photo-op through our neighborhoods, we’ll smile, shake hands and make you feel like you actually did something. We’ll even throw you a little “tea party” if you want. Trust me baby, we’re on to you more than you think.

Darrell Rohman

Chino

A way to fix college sports?

Re “Cleaning up college sports,” Opinion, June 18

As a holder of three degrees from USC and an avid Trojan fan, I’d like to raise a rousing cheer for James O’Toole’s Op-Ed.

I have been bothered for years that the athletic program tail often wags the academic dog. I’m very proud to be a Trojan in light of the great strides the university has made under outgoing President Steven Sample’s leadership.

I sincerely hope that new President Max Nikias heeds O’Toole’s call to exert every effort to make the idea of a league of pri- vate universities a reality — with USC a part of it.

Patrick I. O’Donnell

Escondido

O’Toole rehashes dusty old complaints about colleges abandoning their academic missions for athletics. And what’s his solution? A super conference of private universities from Boston and Miami

to Palo Alto and Los Angeles.

Just how will the women’s lacrosse team traveling cross-country help academics? And who will pay the tab? Certainly not football revenue from those Duke vs. BYU games the professor imagines.

He suggests only granting athletic scholarships to those students making “an iron-clad commitment” to graduate in four years. Just how is that to be regulated? And what’s the problem with taking five years to graduate, as a sizable portion of non-athletes do?

As for the professor’s suggestion that USC join this smarty-pants conference, well, instead of “Fight on,” I can only say, “Dream on.”

Paul Levine

Studio City