Elizabeth Hildebrandt
Jefferson City
Dear Editor:
In 2020, there were 13,000 troops in Afghanistan. Then with a deal with the Taliban brokered by former President Trump and no participation with the Afghan government, the troop size went to 8,600. By 2021, there were 2,500 troops with a complete withdrawal by May 2021. Maybe if the original number of troops had remained, maybe the Taliban would not have been so successful. Hindsight is 2020!
America lost 13 service members by a suicide bomber. Yes, it was tragic! Think about a suicide bomber. He knows he is going to die; however, he is going to take out as many people as possible. How can a suicide bomber be stopped? A difficult problem to solve.
President Biden did the best he could do with the situation he was given.
Marc Catalina
Fulton
Dear Editor:
This is in regard to the article by Zachary Goldberg of the Washington Post about prosecuting Nazis. (Oct. 10)
What are you Jews scared of? 100-year-old Nazis chasing after you? There are very few left, and the remaining ones are in very bad health or senile.
Why waste the time and money? There are plenty of other problems to be addressed. The economy for one, and COVID-19 and its myriad effects in all different areas.
Get over it.
Bill Gerling
Jefferson City
Dear Editor:
The Office of Strategic Services (CIA predecessor) described Hitler's use of the Big Lie blaming German Jews for the loss of World War I as the following: Never allow the public to cool off, never admit fault or concede, never accept blame but blame your enemy for everything. People will believe the Big Lie sooner than the little one if you repeat it often enough.
Trump told 30,573 lies and misleading claims while he was president, according to the Washington Post. He continues to lie to Americans about his loss in the election. He has convinced millions of followers that he is the legitimate president and that he will be "reinstated." This Big Lie is probably the greatest challenge that our country has faced since the Civil War. It is because most of the Republican politicians are tethered to his lie. Biden won the electoral vote by 74 votes and the popular vote by more than 7 million. Chris Krebs, director of Cyber and Infrastructure Security Agency, stated that the 2020 election was the most secure in history. Trump fired him.
There were no "dual electoral votes" presented during certification of the election -- although Trump's lawyer wanted Vice President Mike Pence to call for some from Republican-controlled state legislatures. Trump's lawyers lost 60 cases in state courts and the Supreme Court refused to throw out 2.5 million mail-in votes from Pennsylvania. There were numerous audits and recounts of ballots in battleground states that confirmed Biden's victory.
There were no ballots in suitcases in Georgia. These came from other polling stations and were counted properly. Georgia recounted three times without changing the result. Arizona, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania all had recounts and audits. Dominion voting machines did not flip votes. They are used in 28 states including many Trump won.
By Jan. 6 Trump was desperate to change the election outcome. At his rally preceding the Capitol insurrection he told his followers: "If you don't fight like hell we won't have a country anymore." "We will stop the steal." "We are going to the Capitol." The results were not a peaceful protest but one of violence and mayhem watched by Trump, telling them they "were very special." Over 600 people were arrested, 100 sentenced, 150 police injured and five people dead. Facts don't matter to lying autocrats. Autocrats create their own facts.
J. Richard Smith
Jefferson City
Dear Editor:
Start with a premise. Don't let facts get in your way. Democrats hate America, lefties want to kill babies, they're coming for your guns. Just a few suggestions, get your own from Tucker, Sean or OAN.
Proceed as if the aforementioned premise is, in fact, true.
Drop a few buzz words: woke, CRT, BLM, Antifa are all good.
Throw in some boogieman names: Hillary, Soros, Gates, Obama, AOC, add your own favorite.
Cut to the "ism's": Communism, Marxism, Leninism, and of course the fallback, Socialism. Don't let the fact that you have no idea what they actually mean get in your way, it's the suffix that matters.
Go into a screed about how evil (and/or godless) America has become.
Finish with a petition to your favorite deity to save or bless America.
You're welcome.