Columnist should not attack U.S. military

I am a terrorist and a savage. I didn’t know this until I read Gabriel Matthew Schivone’s article, “”Anniversary of U.S. bombing of Afghanistan reveals unchanged U.S. brand carnage,”” published on Oct. 7, 2009.

I confess that I went to the “”disaster”” that is Iraq and helped rebuild infrastructure there. I confess that I trained to deploy to the “”quagmire”” that is Afghanistan (wait, was not Iraq the “”quagmire”” just last year?) in preparation to support a providential rebuilding team in that country. I confess that I trained to kill those that would do me and my country harm.

I am a terrorist and a savage.

Or, perhaps I should speak the truth.

I am not a terrorist nor a savage; I am a veteran of the United States Armed Services, and I served honorably when called upon by my nation to serve. I met Iraqis that swore to me that our presence was a blessing from Allah. I met a man who was trained as a physical therapist under Saddam Hussein’s reign who thanks me and the United States for freeing him so he could earn not a few hundred dollars a month as a physical therapist, but a few thousand dollars as a supervisor in a concrete plant supplying materials for rebuilding of his country under the watch and protection of the United States. I also know friends, co-workers and supervisors who continue this work in Afghanistan, protecting and rebuilding that country.

I am insulted and appalled that the Daily Wildcat would publish this article. While I do agree that there is more we can do to prevent civilian casualties in these two wars, calling the very men and women who defend your right to publish this paper “”terrorists”” and “”savages”” is not the way to protest the war.

Next time you want to critique military policy, stick to the facts, and stay away from personal attacks against those that defend the greatest nation on Earth.

Robert Rosinski, Senior Airman, USAF

Undeclared freshman

Police Beat should not release identities of suspects

I am writing to express my opinion regarding the recent mass theft of Daily Wildcat copies.

I agree wholeheartedly with the sentiments so far expressed by the Daily

Wildcat‘s staff as well as university administrators. The theft was an inexcusable affront to the freedom of the press so obviously necessary to a free society. There are many better ways than premeditated theft to deal with an undeservedly unflattering Police Beat write-up. I am ashamed of the Phi Kappa Psi members whom I know personally, and offended that an officially sanctioned campus organization would stoop so low.

However, this childish act obscures one even more reprehensible. When Enlightenment thinkers formulated the concept of freedom of the press, they did so in recognition of the important social function served by the press. That function does not require the leveling of unsubstantiated accusations of serious crimes against anyone. The decision to include the name and address of Phi Kappa Psi in the police report serves no purpose other than to demonize the organization and the men who are a part of it.

A close older family member of mine once wrote your Police Beat, so I am aware of its long history and the important purpose it serves. However, it would not have been difficult to simply omit the name of the fraternity in question until the police and the judicial system settle the matter. I am aware that the Police Beat comes directly from Tucson police sources, however by publishing it the Daily Wildcat attaches its name to its content and is therefore responsible for it. Rape is an extremely serious crime, and one must be certain it occurred before publicly accusing a group of young men of it and possibly destroying their reputations.

In other words, a free press is important, but so is that other guarantee of our cherished Constitution: the presumption of innocence.

If you are contacted by Phi Kappa Psi in the coming days demanding a retraction of stories linking them to the theft, do not give in. It is well within your mission to report their involvement.

However, it is equally your duty to apologize for your baseless accusation of rape.

Mathematics freshman

Editor’s Note: The Police Beat in question, printed Oct. 8, reported that a woman said she was possibly drugged at a Phi Kappa Psi party, not raped.