Sen. Bennet should have met publicly with the Colorado Muslim community
Re: “Advocacy group: Bennet backed out of forum to avoid Gaza questions,” April 8 news story
To me it is absurd that a U.S. senator is unwilling to answer questions in public about his votes to spend billions of taxpayer dollars.
I attended the gubernatorial forum on Sunday. About 200 people attended. The large majority were members of Colorado’s Muslim community, who organized the event. It was a family affair with Muslims of all ages attending. They were all eager to have a dialogue with Sen. Michael Bennet and Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser.
Weiser came knowing that he would face difficult questions. People in the audience asked many questions, and every question was respectful. The attorney general held his ground on the issues that are dear to him. He also truly listened and learned from what people had to say.
Nothing in the entire evening was disruptive or threatening in any way. Why would Sen. Bennet request to meet in private, behind closed doors, where any statements or promises he made would not be public?
Steve Brown, Denver
Dark history of presidents’ spins on military operations
I’m old enough to remember multiple presidents and their administrations’ lack of transparency and outright deceit about wars and other military operations: LBJ and Nixon (Vietnam), Reagan (Iran-Contra), George W. Bush (Iraq). So understand if we neither trust nor believe President Donald Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth about this unauthorized war in Iran, we have a solid historical basis for that.
We have a long chain of presidencies since the 1960s that have put our troops at risk in war and military operations for little to no logical reason, while running up the national debt, sometimes alienating our allies, and hiding the truth. This one is only the latest, but it seems to be the most egregious and dangerous.
John W. Thomas, Fort Collins
Trump can’t reinterpret NATO charter to his liking
Re: “Rift widens when Trump lashes out at NATO allies,” April 2 news story
The recent reports of President Donald Trump’s frustration with our NATO allies regarding the ongoing conflict with Iran raise a fundamental question about the nature of the alliance itself. Since the launch of “Operation Epic Fury,” the administration has criticized nations like Britain, France, and Germany for their refusal to join a war that was initiated by the United States without prior consultation with the North Atlantic Council.
As a resident of Colorado who has watched our global commitments evolve over decades, I find this criticism deeply misguided. NATO is, and always has been, a defensive pact. of the North Atlantic Treaty is very clear: it is a collective response to an armed attack against a member state. It is not a blank check for offensive maneuvers or preemptive strikes in the Middle East.
When the president suggests that the U.S. might withdraw from NATO because allies refuse to join an elective war, he ignores the very principles that have kept the West stable since 1949. Allies are not “paper tigers” for refusing to be dragged into a conflict they did not start and do not support. On the contrary, their restraint upholds the rule of law and the specific geographic and legal boundaries of the treaty.
If we want the support of our allies, we must respect the defensive framework that binds us. To demand they participate in an offensive campaign — especially one that risks regional stability and energy security — is to demand they violate the very charter we helped write. We cannot expect “all for one” when the “one” chooses to act alone.
Al White, Winter Park
Enduring the president’s national address
While enduring the “supreme leader’s” nationally televised comments (speech isn’t deserved) last week, with nothing of substance regarding the beginning, current or future plans for the maelstrom in Iran, the only thing garnered was the fact that those 19 minutes of life are never to be recaptured.
RC Lloyd, Longmont
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