Wait for the facts
Editor, The Commercial,
Recently, Sen. Tom Cotton mounted his soap box to demand answers! About what? The surveillance balloons recently in the news. He has a penchant for doing such things.
The real folks in charge of defense these days had not yet gotten the debris collected off the sea floor off the east coast. Almost no accurate answers about almost any aspects of the matter were, or could have been known. Still aren’t in many respects. But, “Sit up and take notice President Biden! Junior Senator Cotton wants ANSWERS any dang way!”
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Sen. Cotton, your hero, Donald Trump, declared himself smarter than any of “his generals.” It begins to appear that you too, are deluded enough to think of yourself in that same way. Some real soldiers are smart enough not to run their mouths until they have accurate answers!
I read in Thursday’s paper where Biden is faulted by Sen. Cotton for the mayhem that happened when we left Afghanistan. This 83 year old Veteran has a few questions. Did not Donald Trump make an agreement with the Taliban some months earlier that the U.S. would leave Afghanistan by a “date certain?”
From that time until Biden’s withdrawal, did we hear of or see Afghan units in vicious and horrendous battles with the Taliban? No. We did NOT. Because they offered little or no resistance; knowing that Trump had agreed we’d leave and there was no further reason for them to die.
The Afghan army was riven with spies and enemy agents for years and it was no secret. The only fighting done was near Kabul and nearby that we heard or read about.
When covid came from China, Sen. Cotton was the first that I recall to make unfounded accusations against China — that they’d knowingly released it. China reflexively took umbrage at such a statement and we got virtually no further cooperation from China on covid. That cost thousands of lives that might otherwise have been saved before our scientists figured things out.
So, Sen. Cotton, this old Veteran would make one suggestion. Henceforth, please resist your impetuosity until the grownups actually in charge of such matters can do their jobs and give such answers as they accurately can while considering national security!
Karl Hansen,
Hensley