Letter from an alumnus about Rumsfeld not a ‘war criminal’

People who complain about Donald Rumsfeld ’54 share my distaste for the fact that Rumsfeld is historically involved with UFO secrecy. However, as far as the invasion of Iraq goes, he is hardly a war criminal, as some have asserted.

Rather, if anything, he has failed to go far enough, and failed to invade Syria, where the DIA and NIMA have asserted the “missing” WMDs are located. Even if that assertion is wrong, Syria still has the most WMDs (poison gas, especially) of any nation in the world (according to the recent CIA fact book, and nearly all their warheads are pointed at Israel, one of our most friendly allies in the Middle East).

Rumsfeld is wrong not to have sent in more troops perhaps; but, clearly, he can’t be a war criminal for enforcing United Nations sanctions against Iraq. Also, most competent legal scholars agree that the Geneva Convention regulations are outmoded in this time, where the Cold War threats have been largely dispelled, and where individual terrorists (as opposed to nations) have waged war against innocent civilians in America.

Moreover, I find it hard to believe that anyone would make such flagrantly false assertions, given the more than 100,000 people that Saddam Hussein had killed or tortured to death in his reign as dictator. To assert that someone who directed intervention against genocide is a “war criminal” is tantamount to asserting that Hitler should have been allowed to carry out his project of the extinction of the Jews!

I think that the remarks in the above letters are an excellent example of liberal bias. The preceding negative comments (in letters above) are a disservice to Princeton, the nation, and to the world.

Nicholas Meyler ’81
Agoura Hills, Calif.

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