Wrong time to cut our military muscle
If President Barack Obama ever tries to dismantle America's nuclear arsenal in the way that he suggested he might when he was in Europe, then he is the most dangerous fool this nation has ever put in the White House ("A winning defense," editorial, April 8).
In the midst of a terrible world war waged against us by the world's Islamic radicals and their allies, our country can't afford to reduce the strength of our military by so much as a single bullet, let alone cut any nuclear weapons.
America's military strength threatens no free man or nation; our military strength is a threat to tyrants all over the world - just as it should be.
Mr. Obama's proposed cuts to our military's strength betray his fundamental unwillingness to defend America and make him a grave menace to the nation he has sworn to defend.
Kurt A. Snavely, Hershey, Pa.
Gathering data isn't 'intelligence'
It's characteristic of innumerable governmental/military fabrications to label information-gathering and its products "intelligence" ("A winning defense," April 8).
But intelligence is a human capacity, not a mass of data. Certainly intelligence is much needed to decide what data to seek and to analyze data obtained. But to assert - as many do - that (for example) interrogators at the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, or in Iraq or Afghanistan are "getting intel" from prisoners is the kind of nonsense that fosters highly dubious policies and actions, then similarly dubious rationalizations about what is being done.
It would be refreshing if U.S. data-collecting agencies did use more intelligence than the CIA did in lending data to the destructive invasion of Iraq.
Labeling their task accurately would be a useful step in that direction.
Joe Morton, Towson
Phelps isn't ideal as model for kids
Watching Maryland legislators give Michael Phelps a standing ovation offered the worst kind of role model to kids as well as adults ("Phelps makes a splash at the State House," April 10).
Mr. Phelps has accomplished things very few people can do in swimming, but his personal life fails to make it on the podium.
To invite a known drunken driver and pot smoker to our State House to honor his accomplishments does not promote good ethics for our kids or society.
With the economy as bad as it is, our legislators could have found better issues to review or brought better role models to the State House.
