Durbin's apology is a futile one

To the editor:

I have never witnessed a major political party like the Democrats with such intense hatred for the other party. Newsweek, on publishing a false story about the Quran, knew this would engender further hate in the Islamic world. Further fanning the winds of hatred was U.S. Sen. Richard Durbin's comparison of our administration and military personnel to Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin and Pol Pot who together slaughtered 20 to 30 million people.

The consequences of such remarks increase the danger to our service personnel and U.S. civilians overseas. Apologies are futile. I know all soldiers were not perfect gentlemen in World War II and Korea. We did what was required to win. As Franklin Roosevelt said, "The war will be over when we win."

Senator Durbin did not serve in any military service. He has never visited Guantanamo Bay. He stated after a week of intense pressure, "In case I offended someone ... ." This is far from a full apology. Even if it wer, the damage has been done.

I was a special agent in the Army Counter Intelligence Corps, and we were always fearful that some irresponsible member of Congress would have such poor judgment as to release a raw, unverified intelligence report. In those war years, most member of both major parties were supportive of our military.

Rhoda and I have a son scheduled last spring for deployment to Afghanistan or Iraq. It has been delayed. It is disconcerting to watch this "blame America first" crowd.

GLENN REEVES, Cape Girardeau