Mr. Secretary,

It’s one thing for an ordinary citizen to shoot his mouth off on the Middle
East but when the Secretary of Defense of the United States starts popping
off that’s serious! I’m referring to Donald Rumsfeld’s comments about the
Israeli “settlements” the other day in what he called the “so-called occupied
territories”. Those comments were in conflict with U.S. policy as stated
repeatedly, not to mention international law as generally understood and
United Nations declarations etc. His thesis seems to be that Israel won those
territories fair and square in a war so they are entitled to keep them. He
ignores the implications of that kind of thinking. It would justify the Nazi
conquest of many parts of Europe, particularly those in which they had some
modest claim to hegemony such as the Czech Sudetenland, but maybe France,
Poland, etc. too. I know. “That’s different.” It’s just kind of hard to
explain to us dummies.

Who is running our Middle East foreign policy? You don’t have to answer. I
know. It’s Ariel Sharon – but at least you should be the spokeman Mr.
Secretary of State!

Well I suppose you fellows (Don, Dubyuh, etc.) will have a good laugh over
all this. Trouble is, it isn’t funny.

Albert Doyle, [American, veteran, Bush voter (to my regret – I’d now go for
Nader)]