Heavy Hitter Swings Late?

The article that most impressed me in today’s Sun News appeared in a section called "Nation & World". The piece stands under the heading of "Voices of Dissent" -- which may cast a shadow on the validity of the section since it must be by “one of them other guys”. The title of the article in 48 point type shouts, "Experts Warn of Repeating Cold War Folly". The gist of the article is that George W. Bush misinformed us about Iraq's alleged holding of weapons of mass destruction and that the President planned a war on Iraq prior to September 11, 2001, though he just thought of going after Iraq when it terrorized New York City that day.

These are not new assertions but to see them now in orderly assembly as a "lead" article in the Sunday paper may give heart to those who oppose the administration's enthusiasm for war. The article points out that the four decades of the Cold War and the era of the Vietnam war rehearsed arguments virtually the same as those George W. Bush now advances for continuing our war in Iraq, to whit, we're battling a worldwide movement that will rain bombs on our heads in the U.S. and will in turn lead to the domino collapse of nations around Iraq and further out.

The byline of the article identifies Ron Hutcheson as the author speaking to us from "Washington Bureau". I'm not sure where that Bureau is or who owns it. The section of the paper where it appears is subtitled with a red header “MYRTLEBEACHONLINE.COM” (yes, in caps), probably implying what appears there lacks the kind of journalistic review typical of a Sunday paper.

I congratulate the Sun News for printing the article/opinion.

I criticize the Sun News for presenting Hutcheson's piece with insinuations that it as an orphan. Hutcheson's work is on the contrary an informed analysis and a professionally argued opinion, backed by current facts and authorities, and really well done.