An Open Letter to Donald Rumsfeld

This is response to Donald Rumsfeld's speech before a veterans group as reported on CNN.com:

Dear Mr. Rumsfeld:

How dare you portray me, as a critic of the Bush administration, “as suffering from ‘moral and intellectual confusion’ about what threatens” this nation’s security? Am I morally and intellectually confused for critizing the administration for starting a war in a country which had not attacked us and did not support the terrorists responsible for the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, throwing that nation with economic stability and way of life into terror, loss of vital human services and civil war where thousands have lost their lives? Am I morally and intellectually confused for regretting the actions of the administration that have brought terror to the citizens of Iraq by our confronting terrorists?

I assert that the administration is morally confused for lying to the Congress and American public about your reasons for attacking Iraq. I assert that the administration is morally and intellectually confused by destroying the basic rights given to Americans by its blantant refusal to govern by the dictates set forth in the United States Constitution.

I fear that the actions of the administration under the guise of confronting terrorism is what threatens the nation’s security. The rhetoric emitting from the administration of exclusion anyone “not American” (i.e., an Ameican citizen who doesn’t blindly believe and support the administration) and the administration’s need for a blanket power of authority can be compared to the rhetoric of Adolph Hitler during his rise of power in the 1930’s. You and the administration apparently learned that lesson of history.

I am an American. I do not agree with the policies and performance of the Bush administration and I will continue to voice my criticisms as allowed by the United States Constitution.

Sincerely,

A moral and intelligent American