Dear Editor:
In his letter, posted Dec. 9, 2015, Terry Wodder assures us that all is well as far as the ISIS threat is concerned. He glosses over the fact that the 130 people who died in the Paris attack were killed by Muslim terrorists. The same is true of the San Bernardino attack. Rather than denounce the attackers and their handlers, he goes after Republican governors.
Apparently, he believes that the 30 Republican governors who declared that they do not want to take in Syrian refugees are simply cold-hearted Republicans who care nothing about the “desperate, heartbreaking situation” these people find themselves in. He ignores the fact that our governors are responsible for the safety of their own people and are worried that some of the refugees will be terrorists. We have no ability to screen thousands of refugees in order to determine who is and who isn’t a terrorist.
Mr. Wodder does not share America’s concern. In his letter he goes on to cite statistics that are totally irrelevant to the current terrorist situation. For example, he states that since 9/11 11,000 Americans have died by homicides each year and 45 have been killed by terrorists. How about if we consider the almost 3,000 who died by Muslim hands on 9/11? The threat we face is now and in the future. We must defeat ISIS militarily.
Mr. Wodder does not believe the Muslims from Syria, or apparently anywhere else, pose an existential threat to us or our allies. Tell that to the Parisians or the families of those killed on 9/11. He seems to believe that the world can stand a few casualties now and then, but that other acts, such as gun violence, are more threatening. The point that Mr. Wodder misses is that we should work to save as many lives as possible, no matter the cause of death.
Following the Obama policy of no boots on the ground. Mr. Wodder believes we can defeat ISIS by providing support and not making the terrorists mad at us. Note he states that if “we send in tens of thousands of troops …that will only sow the seeds of new and possibility even more ruthless killers.” He does not seem to realize that Muslims already hate us. Sending in our troops won’t make them hate us any more. During World War II we did not worry about what the Germans and Japanese thought of us. But then we had real leaders, not a community organizer, as president.
Franklin M. Ward
Frederica, DE