Too little, too late for Colin Powell

Re “Powell says it’s time to close Guantanamo,” June 11

Isn’t it a little late for former Secretary of State Colin L. Powell to get religion? Your article says he advocates reexamining his “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy on homosexuals in the military. He also belatedly advises closing the infamous detention facility at Guantanamo and bewails the botched occupation of Iraq.

The ship has sailed, Colin Powell. Too late to pull a George Tenet-style apology. It was your plain duty to resign as secretary of State as soon as you realized how the administration snookered you into making your “yellow cake” speech at the United Nations.

You chose to salute and keep quiet. How many American military and Iraqi civilian lives could you have saved if you had used your prestige to speak out forcefully against the planned invasion of Iraq based on an immoral pack of administration lies?

SARA MERIC

Santa Monica

*

As with many others who have served this administration, Powell’s values and priorities have been seriously misplaced. He is to be severely criticized, not applauded. These public servants took a vow “to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States” (not “the American people,” as our president is so fond of mistakenly telling us).

Their loyalty should have been to the nation and the document that defines it, not to this president, his administration or the Republican Party.

Speaking out now is too late and too little.

ROBERT SILVER

Los Angeles