Animal carnage on
highways ignored
I would like to start off by saying that I am an animal lover.
My biggest complaint is about all of the dead animals on both sides of Highway 4. Between Alhambra Road and the Highway 80 interchange, there are at least 15 dead animals. What happened to someone picking them up? Some have been there for months. There was a dead deer that sat for two days last weekend. It’s gone.
There are freeway workers, yet they are still there. There was a time when those animals would have been picked up.
Lora Lee Martin
El Sobrante
Hamas doesn’t represent
all Palestinians
We must not confuse the plight of the Palestinians with the evil of Hamas. To do so would be like condemning all Americans because some are Proud Boys.
We also need to appreciate the possible consequences for Palestinians of the Netanyahu/Saudi deal.
Finally, I am worried about the hysteria that Netanyahu and his supporters are promoting here in the United States. A terrible situation needs cool heads.
Jim Wolpman
Walnut Creek
Letter ignores history
of Mideast conflict
Re: “Ending occupation only path to Israel peace” (Page A6, Oct. 11).
Victoria Rue calls the atrocities by Hamas “a last resort” and blames Israel.
What about the option of peace, which every Palestinian leader has rejected repeatedly? The Hamas charter calls for the destruction of Israel. The Palestinian Authority, from Arafat to Abbas, has rejected offers of peace repeatedly. When Israel first took control of the West Bank and Gaza, and offered peace, the Arab League Summit issued its famous “Three No’s”: No peace with Israel, no recognition of Israel, no negotiations with Israel.
Dan Fendel
Piedmont
Palestinians suffer
from their own acts
Re: “Ending occupation only path to Israel peace” (Page A6, Oct. 11).
Israel offered a compromise to the conflict in 2001 and it was rejected by the Palestinians who instigated the Second Intifada which killed over 1,000 Israelis. Other offers were made and rejected.
Israel attacked Gaza after being bombarded by thousands of rockets and missiles. Hamas has taken donations meant for civilians and used them for weapons. It has hidden weapons under schools and hospitals. When Israel left Gaza in 2005 she left greenhouses that could grow vegetables and they were destroyed by Hamas.
The Palestinians could have had a state in 1948 had they agreed to the U.N. Partition Plan and several times since. The Palestinians are victims, but the wounds are self-inflicted.
Gilbert Stein
Aptos
West must find way
to win extended war
Re: “Official: Putin targeting U.S. support for Ukraine by pushing propaganda” (Page A3, Oct. 3).
Julian Barnes stated “Russia’s strategy to win the war in Ukraine is to outlast the West.”
Exactly. That is smart, and the United States and western allies need to be smart also. Back off from attempts to “win” the war, send only enough munitions to continue the stalemate, and carry out high-yield operations, such as pounding Russia’s Black Sea fleet. Forget “spring offensives.” Western allies must formulate a joint plan providing minimal support indefinitely, with an agreement that support will not be withdrawn.
At the same time, western allies need to double down to weaken Russia internally, through increasingly severe sanctions and perhaps banning Russian athletes from international competition. Over history, more wars may have been won by “outlasting” than by “winning.” Our Vietnam War, and our revolution from Britain, may be examples. The West must figure out its own best strategy for “outlasting” Russia in Ukraine.
William M. Gilbert
Lafayette
Supporters inexplicably
cling to crooked Trump
The penalty for treason by an American president is five years in prison and a hefty fine. The source of the treason charge is the sharing of nuclear secrets, something a foreign power would love to have.
Well, Donald Trump has done just that at his Mar-a-Lago home with one of his resort buddies. Does it undermine American security? Of course it does.
Americans have died defending our security and safety from hostile countries, but to Trump, it doesn’t matter. If it doesn’t financially benefit him, he could care less. And yet, he still has supporters. Sad.
Stuart Shicoff
Martinez
Source: www.mercurynews.com