'Your papers, please' must never be heard in America
Independent voices from the TWT Communities
To those serving in the armed forces of the United States, as one who once stood in your place, I ask that you look at history before you cast your ballots in this presidential election.
President Obama and his supporters are claiming that the decision to send the reinforcements requested by the generals in Afghanistan (the "surge") was tantamount to taking decisive action to end the war ("Obama makes surprise trip to Afghanistan," Web, Tuesday). I do not think so. More important, history gives lie to that claim.
CBS newsman Mike Wallace, the dogged, merciless reporter and interviewer who took on politicians, celebrities and other public figures in a 60-year career highlighted by the on-air confrontations that helped make "60 Minutes" the most successful prime-time television news program ever, has died. He was 93.
On April 28, 1967, Gen. William C. Westmoreland was accorded a rare honor, that of addressing a joint session of Congress. As he ticked off indicators of progress in the war in Vietnam, the general seemed the embodiment of the military professional: trim and erect, with prominent eyebrows and a jutting chin that did not encourage contradiction.
"Imagine sitting day after day in the courtroom, hearing yourself called every vile name imaginable," he said.
Mike Wallace, longtime '60 Minutes' interviewer, dies at age 93 →
"Given the nature of the enemy," he said, "it seems to me that the strategy we are following at this time is the proper one, and that it is producing results."
