a little digging into your link finds some very interesting things about these "authors". It sure seems that none of the men with their name on the article currently serve in Iraq although they certainly have extensive credentials and have sacrificed in the earlier years of the war.

They are all members of an organization called "Vets for Freedom" that seems to have as a mission supporting the current administration's mission in the Mideast. Certainly their sentiments could be heartfelt but let's remember that there is always a grain of salt with any military person that spouts the stated mission. You never served so you have no clue the amount of pressure that's on soldiers to not publicly go against policy. The repercussions can be very scary indeed. To stay on message can often get personnel advancement and benefits politically. Now before you go insisting I'm calling them liars you are very wrong. My message is merely that their credibility has not been proven just because they wore the uniform.

Credibility though for warriors that buck the system and make statements against operations is a better bet because of the intense risks they take as whistle-blowers. Now were all the authors of the original letter going back home to run for Congress or something their message might be suspect but there's little advantage to someone still in the military to speak up other than a clearing of conscience or true concern for their country.

It's pretty easy to see why a major newspaper regardless of their political leanings would feature a letter from an unorganized groups of random soldiers and reject a letter from what is basically a political action committee.

Now let's talk about the site you linked to that featured this letter Tom. I always go to the About Us link on those sites and this one brought a real laugh. The editors of this page are none other than William Kristol and Fred Barnes. Why don't you just link us directly to Karl Rove or Dick Cheney's personal home page. Crap, do you think we're stupid?

Art