Sharrat feels that his good name will remain in question, in spite of his commanding general's decision to drop the murder charges against him. Actually, he could request a courtmartial for precisely the purpose of definitively clearing his name. He "declined to discuss all aspects of the events of Nov. 19, 2005," meaning apparently most of the deaths, because of pending investigations of other Marines. Fair enough, though you dismiss with contempt Murtha's declining to discuss the case due to pending litigation; but a court-martial would force a full and fair review of all facts affecting Sharrat, and if his case is as strong as it appears to be from articles in the O-R, he should do so.
Of course, Murtha's attackers will howl with outrage at the suggestion, and accuse anyone making it of not supporting the troops, not withstanding that recent events have shown good relations with the communities in which they operate is the best protection our troops can have - and the hatred that an incident like Haditha can create can be, perhaps has been, deadly to them. But the strategy is to present Murtha's statement, not the dead women and children, as the problem. It seems to be working.
Murtha's anguished statement was provoked by the discovery that the initial report about what happened - that the civilians had been killed by a roadside bomb - was a lie (another fact that needs to be explained). His concern was with America's good name, and the Marine Corps'. These, as well as Sharrat's, can only be vindicated by full disclosure, and by dealing with all aspects of the tragic incident.
Joe Farrell
Cambridge, Ohio
It should be
a death sentence
As a former resident of Washington County, I was appalled to read the story, "Mollett Gets Life Sentence." At one time, if you killed a police officer in the line of duty, it was an automatic death sentence.
This country is turning into a land with a bunch of creeps running around with no value of life. He does not deserve to live. Cpl. Pokorny was a fine man and was killed by this person who will live the rest of his life in a cell while the family of the man he killed can do nothing but mourn his passing.
Here in South Florida, we have had five officers killed in the past three months. These killers have no fear of the law.
Joanne Davie
Fort Pierce, Fla.
A job unfinished
I am writing to call attention to the road on Henderson Avenue (Route 18) near the plaza containing Lowry's western shop and Dollar General. Part of Route 18 was resurfaced but was left unfinished. After several attempts to call the situation to PennDOT's attention, I was told that it would be corrected. The contractor that performed the repair originally left almost a rumble strip that will jar your vehicle. After several months of waiting for PennDOT to correct the situation, it seems someone tried to correct it and worsened the problem.
This is the case of someone being paid to do a job that was not completed. Will whoever paid the bill, or whoever was supposed to do the job, please remove these rumble strips?
Harry Sabatasse
Burgettstown
Watch your coats
I want the Washington Crown Center Mall walkers to be aware of leaving their jackets on benches or chairs.
I had my powder-blue jacket stolen on Dec. 28 at 8 a.m., when none of the stores was open. We have a nice group of walkers, and I hope this doesn't happen to them.
Janet Carey
Washington