Opinion: Detention seems a small thing after Sept. 11

The story about the detained men utterly disgusted me. I wasn't disgusted over the "victims" being detained immediately following one of our planet's worst man-made disasters; I was sickened over the liberal one-sided twist you attempted to thrust upon readers.

Evidently, two Arabic men were detained for a long period of time and eventually released as their innocence became apparent. Your newspaper seems to have forgotten that a few days before the arrest of the two gentlemen, 19 Arabic men hijacked four airliners filled with passengers and eventually killed thousands of innocent Americans as the jets were smashed into buildings and a field.

Naturally, an event of such biblical proportions will result in many people being inconvenienced and, in this instance, wrongly detained. It always seemed to me that extreme circumstances call for extreme measures. I laughed out loud as your staff writer described the airport security room where the two men were initially interviewed as being "stuffy." Hmmm, I just can't seem to muster any sympathy when I recall how "stuffy" the 100th floor of the World Trade Center must have been to the workers who chose jumping to their deaths (some hand in hand) versus staying in the towers and burning to death.

One of the detained men was quoted as saying, "Hopefully, the day will come when people will stand up and realize what happened after Sept. 11th."

Apparently, the man feels that the 67 days he spent in jail were a more severe situation than the grieving of thousands of families who lost loved ones as a result of the jihad attack.

As a volunteer at ground zero on Sept. 12, I helped fellow workers on the so-called bucket brigade yank human body parts from the filthy rubble that remained of the once great towers. My vacation to my hometown that week was spent in a living hell that will always haunt me. If our nation's police authorities had remained lethargic after Sept. 11, the recent arrest of the Buffalo terror cell would not have happened.

Your paper seems more concerned with those who've had their feelings battered than with the scary fact that an enormous number of Arab men still remain at large who want to kill Americans.
-- Don King, Port Richey

An apology would have helped

Re: Fla. terror suspect: "We are not a threat," Sept. 16.

In response to the three medical students who were picked up and detained due to their arrogance: They should have apologized and shown some remorse for creating a bad situation and additional problems for themselves. Instead they are attempting to make a liar of the woman who reported them and besmirching her character. This will not deter other Americans from reporting similar incidents.

A little humility in this case and the average person would have sympathized with them. But if they think we do not believe this woman's story, they have a lot to learn. "We made a mistake and we are sorry" is all they had to say and they could have gotten on with their lives. Denial shows a flaw in their character, and perhaps the medical facility was correct in taking the action it did.

Methinks these men doth protest too much.
-- Elinore and Sal Melilli, Port Richey

Dealing with an unfortunate name

Re: Detention, ostracism over an Arabic name sour American dreams.

It is unfortunate that the young man named "Jihad" suffers in the United States following Sept. 11, 2001. The fault, however, would appear to be with the parent who named him, not on a society that is now quite sensitive to that word.

It appears to be his mother's decision to leave the United States. If that is the case then she can scarcely blame the teacher who could not bring herself to mouth that hateful word -- and it was hateful to Westerners long before 9/11. The boy simply could have adopted the nickname "Jay." That solution has been common for many people shackled with a first name they deplore.

How many people present us their name as first initial, middle name, last name? How many simply use their middle name or a family nickname that is not related to their real first name. Many of these cases are caused by parents trying to make a foolish statement, and their children suffer for it.
-- Ian MacFarlane, St. Petersburg

Being singled out

Jihad Luby Mohd Saleh accused his teacher of singling him out from among the other students by not calling him by his first name Jihad (which means holy war).

I can understand the teacher's position because of the interpretation of this name. If she called him "Jihad," it might have caused the students to single him out from the rest of the class. Who knows? It is a judgment call.

After the 9/11 attacks, "jihad" has become a word that brings out concerns among Americans.

In this war against terrorism, there will always be some "singling out" of people of Mideastern descent. The terrorist enemy we are fighting is not from Japan, Germany, England, Australia, etc.

This young man, Jihad, said he used to think America was the greatest country in the world, but now is moving to another country with his mother. Well, yes, he is right about America. If he can find peace and happiness in another country, farewell! If he returns, I suggest he use his middle name, Luby.

Thanks to the principal and the school district for their handling of this situation.
-- W.M. Unsworth, Tampa

For easier assimilation

Re: Detention, ostracism over an Arabic name sour American dreams.

Through no fault of his own, Jihad Saleh was saddled with a name that evokes scorn. One can understand how this might affect him. In a perfect world one's name should not be the criterion by which you are perceived. This, however is not a perfect world.

He has the option of changing his name. Many years ago, before the liberal claptrap of cultural diversity became politically correct, immigrants who sought to better assimilate into our country, had the option of changing their names. Countless millions did. Their assimilation into our country was made easier by learning the English language and adopting the American culture as their own. Now it's the other way around.

The politically correct mandate is that we and our American culture must change. We must adapt and adopt the myriad of foreign languages, lifestyles, cultures and repressive religions. Continue on this path and the American culture will be undefinable, nebulous and bastardized.

And should I have had the misfortune of having as some part of my name Hitler, Osama, Saddam or Clinton, I would not hesitate to change it, but fast.
-- J. Schlosser, Spring Hill

Military personnel deserve aid, too

On the anniversary review of the 9/11 tragedy on television, it was obvious why millions of Americans in their anguish donated millions of dollars for the victims of terrorism. We contributed mightily to individual appeals from numerous agencies on behalf of civilian victims, firefighters and law enforcement officers who lost their lives last September.

It is fitting that the families of these victims are generously compensated for their loss, with millions still collected by the Red Cross and other fundraising organizations yet to be distributed.

What we seem to have forgotten are the families of others who have lost their lives as a result of this same terrorism: the families of Americans killed by terrorists in embassy bombings, the families of the sailors killed in the bombing of the USS Cole, and the members of our Armed Forces who have been killed on duty in Afghanistan. Their loss is felt just as deeply by their families, yet they are compensated with only a cheap coffin, a minuscule burial allowance and about $10,000 paid by our government for loss of life in service to their country.

Today, there are continuing appeals for 9/11 survivor funds, while millions of dollars in donations remain undistributed. Let us at this point consider distribution of benefits to all who sacrifice their lives in service to their country and their communities.

Let us divert all or part of the current undistributed funds to the families of these unheralded individuals who have, and will, sacrifice their lives on our behalf. Let us establish a national fund that that compensates the families of military personnel who are killed in the line of duty because of terrorism, as well as those of law enforcement and firefighters who die in the performance of duty.

In our tradition of generosity, let us remember all of our heroes who give their lives on behalf of us, and not only those who are victims of a single act.
-- Robert R. Loeffler, Port Richey

How can hijackers be rational people?

Re: Tough questions remain, letter, Sept. 11.

There is one tough question remaining. How is it that Floridians spend so much time complaining about the way Gov. Jeb Bush is handling the education system in Florida, when we have school teachers (like the writer of the letter to which I am responding) who don't know the meaning of the word "rational"?

Speaking of the Sept. 11 attacks, the teacher's letter queried, "What would possess rational people to give their lives for such an act?"

Rational people do not deliberately fly airplanes into buildings. Rational people do not spend their lives plotting to kill innocent people. Rational people do not purposely live in holes in the ground like animals. Rational people do not listen to the ravings of a lunatic who teaches them how to kill themselves for the sake of hatred. Rational people do not expect to get 72 virgins when they purposely do a despicable act, like killing thousands of innocent people, etc.

Without the statistics, I have no way of knowing how much of our resources Americans consume. Maybe we do use 50 percent, but, I can assure you we produce more of the world's goods than a bunch of misfits living in caves, plotting to kill innocent people. Maybe if they would spend their time more productively, they, too, could have a better life.
-- Larry G. Henderson, Clearwater

Don't link poverty and terrorism

On Sept. 15, you reported that the deputy prime minister of Canada, John Manley, recently said, "As long as large parts of the world are living on less than $1 a day . . . some people -- just out of sheer frustration -- are going to become suicide bombers."

But the facts do not bear this out. All of the 19 hijackers on Sept. 11 came from middle-class or well-to-do Arab families. (The same is true for most Palestinian suicide bombers.) Fifteen of the hijackers came from Saudi Arabia, one of the wealthiest nations in the Arab world. All were well-educated. Osama bin Laden himself is a multimillionaire, and his No. 2, Dr. Ayman al Zawahiri, had a successful medical practice before waging jihad.

Finally, Africa faces much more dire poverty than the Middle East, yet there are no Congolese or Zimbabweans flying planes into buildings. Although world poverty is a serious concern, it is specious to link it to the blight of terrorism we now face.
-- Mark Cattell, Brooksville

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