Letters to the Editor

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

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NEW YORK SUN CONTRIBUTOR

‘Just Let Me Own a Hotel’

Re: “Just Let Me Own a Hotel” [Real Estate, November 2, 2006]: This one was special for me as [the Beekman Hotel] was where I became engaged to my wife in 1969 — on top of the tower, which at that point, was not glassed-in. We both looked at the story with fondness and salute the writer for doing it and the paper for carrying it.

ROBERT DILENSCHNEIDER
New York, N. Y.

‘The Summer Soldier’

Once again, the Sun repeats the tired charge that Senator Kerry and his colleges “don’t have any plan for victory in Iraq” [Editorial, “The Summer Soldier,” November 1, 2006]. And where, pray tell, have been the viable Republican plans? Beyond the toppling of Saddam Hussein, there has been no plan: no plan to prevent looting; no plan to combat an insurgency; no plan to secure Iraq’s borders against an influx of foreign terrorists; no plan to prevent sectarian civil war; no plan to restore public services; no plan for the civil government or army but to disband them. Furthermore, the worldwide contempt in which the administration and our nation are held means that there never will be a Republican plan for success. President Bush has so alienated himself from the rest of the world that none of the partners who could broker an improved Iraq will even deal with him. Our best and only hope is finding leadership which can publicly admit mistakes and reopen relationships with those who could help, and that leadership does not lie within the Republican Party.

STEPHEN PHILLIPS
Brooklyn, N.Y.

‘The Ivy Soldier’

Seth Gitell’s column, “The Ivy Soldier” [Oped, November 7, 2006] is among the most brilliant responses to Senator Kerry’s comments about education and the military I have read. Mr. Gitell’s column transcends the partisan politics of late and brings the focus of the discussion to that which is most important: the “honor, courage, tradition, and duty” of our servicemen and women. Many of today’s military recruits are college graduates — some joined the ROTC program in college, others enlisted in the aftermath of September 11. Still others serve as part of a long tradition of military service or out of an individual sense of duty. But none of these motivations is any less important or significant than another. Nor do any of these reasons suggest that these men and women are uneducated or unlucky. Rather, the men and women who serve in our military today are among the most intelligent, dedicated, admirable, and selfless Americans that I know. We are indeed surrounded by “Ivy Heroes.” Mr. Gitell’s piece gives me hope that we, as a nation, can overcome the divisive party politics to simply say “thank you” to the men and women who serve our country with honor.

MARIKA BEATON
Charlestown, Mass.


Please address letters intended for publication to the Editor of The New York Sun. Letters may be sent by e-mail to editor@nysun.com, by facsimile to 212-608-7348, or post to 105 Chambers Street, New York City 10007. Please include a return address and daytime telephone number. Letters may be edited.

NY Sun
NEW YORK SUN CONTRIBUTOR

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.


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