Response to NYTimes' Noble Laureate columnist Paul Krugman on "America's Soul"

Chicago Saturday PM 25 April 2009

Editors, The New York Times

Gentlepeople:

In a Friday, April 24 New York Times column Paul Krugman writes: "...[T]he Bush administration ... misled the nation into a war they wanted to fight, and, probably, tortured people in the attempt to extract 'confessions' that would justify that war."

For a man who won a Nobel Prize (thot by most to be well deserved,) it's hard to believe Krugman wrote that without reading House-Senate Joint Resolution of October 10, 2002 for "Use of Military Force Against Iraq." At 1300 words, this resolution is not long, but contains 22 statements justifying invading Iraq, and includes the words 'weapons of mass destruction' (6 times,) 'September 11, 2001' (5 times,) 'al Quaida' once, 'nuclear' 4 times. (Curiously, it did not contain the word 'oil'.) And the resolution was passed by 2/3 majorities of each house (2/3 of Senate Democrats, too.)

Krugman concludes by writing "We need to do this [prosecute leaders of the Bush Administration for misleading "the nation into a war"] ... "because it’s about reclaiming America’s soul."

America's soul was defined first and best by Thomas Jefferson: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men... are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."

Unfortunately, the world being what it is, at times there are forces who would try to destroy that soul. To attack previous leaders who in good conscience tried their best to prevent this, has nothing to do with 'reclaiming' anything, but everything to do with cheap, juvenile, vindictiveness.

Arnold H Nelson 5056 North Marine Drive Chicago IL 60640