United States must respond correctly to killing of Berg

United States must respondcorrectly to killing of Berg
EDITOR:
I am writing in reference to the brutal murder of Nick Berg, a Pennsylvania native who went to Iraq looking for work. He was kidnapped and held for a short period of time and then murdered by the militants. They claim the murder was in retaliation for the abuse of Iraqi soldiers, who were abused by U.S. soldiers while being held as prisoners of war.
I feel that this is an outrage; this young man went to Iraq as an individual to repair communication towers. He was not a representative of the U.S. military. He was kidnapped and murdered by the Iraqi militants. They are an uncivilized group who would abuse civilians. We as a nation need to stand up for the rights of this man. We need to keep our civilians out of Iraq and let our military finish this fight and get out of Iraq. I think the United States needs to let the Iraqi militants know that we are not going to tolerate the kidnapping and murder of our citizens. I feel that travel to Iraq by U.S. citizens should be prohibited and our soldiers removed from Iraq as soon as possible.
Let the Iraqis figure out how to rebuild their country without our help. The United States needs to hunt down the men in the video and put them to trial, which is how we as a civilized nation deal with murderers. We do not act as a terrorist group and assassinate people without a trial.
I am not advocating the abuse of prisoners. What our military did was wrong, and the responsible soldiers need to be punished for their actions. They will be put on trial and judged by a jury and sentenced accordingly. This is how a civilized court system works.
Nick Berg was not a criminal nor a soldier. He was an innocent victim of terrorism, and I feel sadness and compassion for his family; they have my deepest sympathy.
T.J. BAKER
Lake Milton
Local police officers' failureto salute flag is disrespectful
EDITOR:
I am a member of the American Legion Post 310 in Austintown. We had the honor of being part of the Youngstown Memorial Day parade. Our unit was close to the end of the parade.
The parade route was lined with Youngstown police officers. I was very surprised to see that the police officers did not salute the flag as it had passed by. There was only one young police woman at the Metropolitan Bank who saluted the flag as it had passed by, and those of us in the car following thanked the young lady and said we appreciated her honoring the flag.
All of the officers along the parade route just looked ahead or turned their heads away. I thought everyone in a uniform was supposed to salute the flag. I saw civilians salute the flag.
I was very disappointed in the Youngstown Police Department. I feel that if they have no respect for the flag, they have no respect for themselves or their job.
WILBERT E. GAUS
Austintown
Dr. Zona's contributions gobeyond the Butler Institute
EDITOR:
I read with pleasure the recent article regarding one of Youngstown's most precious jewels, Dr. Louis Zona. As a student of Zona's in the early '70s, I'm reminded of school arts classes and Clingan Wadell Hall. It especially reminded me of one of Zona's most important lessons, that of finding worth in every student's work and to encourage positive self-images.
Please be assured, Dr. Zona, that you continue to make a difference in the lives of your former students and upon their students.
Thank you for the excitement you have brought to the Butler and to many classrooms throughout the area!
MARIANNE ORLANDO MODARELLI
Hubbard
XThe writer is a teacher at Roosevelt Elementary School, Hubbard.