Story needed vetting
On March 14, City Paper reporter Marty Levine attended a press conference I spoke at in support of Iraq Veterans Against the War's "Winter Soldier" event. You would never know this, though, from the article that appeared March 19.
Levine takes the comments made by myself and others in support of Iraq Veterans, strips them from their context, and gives the impression that we are affiliated with the Pittsburgh Organizing Group and its bizarre "Cage the Recruiters" action -- an action that gives the appearance of being anti-troops, and which I condemn. This is especially troubling because the vast majority of the Pittsburgh anti-war movement has a strong history of supporting troops and working with IVAW. It is deeply troubling to me that CP would mischaracterize the Pittsburgh anti-war movement by omitting the fact that three of the people quoted in that article were speaking at a press conference to support veterans.
On March 29, veterans, students, and people from all walks of life came out to protest the war. I think we have every reason to be hopeful about the future of the anti-war movement in Pittsburgh, and by continuing to build a mass movement we can bring an end to the war.
-- Vanessa Wills, Lawrenceville
Iraq left off the table
Chris Potter can smell bullshit from here to Baghdad. Therefore, it pains me to call him out over his failure to challenge Hillary Clinton's supporters at City Paper's Pennsylvania primary roundtable [March 19].
In this "feminist"-cum-gunslinger's rush to strap-on during the approach to shock and awful in Iraq, she irresponsibly refused to read the damning counter-claims detailed in the National Intelligence Estimate made available to every senator. She chose not to support Carl Levin's amendment attempt to brake Bush's bloodlust, while proudly parroting the neocon rationale for pre-emptive war and occupation. Subsequently, she voted for the Kyle-Lieberman amendment that dangerously rattles sabers at Iran.
In addition, her silence was deafening as her husband's sanctions against Iraq led to what the U.N. estimated was the deaths of over 500,000 Iraqi children. And what about the children that needlessly suffered and died after Bill unjustifiably bombed a Sudanese pharmaceutical plant to show some sack?
The Clinton supporters who argue for the transformative effect that a feminine sensibility and perspective would bring to the political landscape are undeniably correct in the abstract. It's the indefensible contradictions of this particular "monster" bringing about these badly needed changes that Potter failed to address that, once again, gave her a get-out-of-the-Hague-free card.
-- Albert Petrarca, Juneau, Ak.
