A letter from the front

I have to be honest, I do not know if what I am about to post is legit or not. Pedestrian Infidel has not provided corroborating links to the source.

Even as I typed that first sentence it dawned on me that I now live in the information age. So I Googled “Lt. Tom Cotton” and found a source immediately.

So here is the deal: Lt. Cotton is a lieutenant in the United States Army. Lt. Cotton is unhappy with the New York Times (as he should be).

Here is the reason Lt. Cotton’s perspective has piqued my interest: every once in awhile I receive comments from those that purport to be in the military and complain about my conservative slant on politics. I know that those few are the minority if they are even in the military (liberals lie). I read a comment some time ago from someone claiming to be in the Navy and about to be deployed on a ship to Iraq. He claimed he and his buddies think the War in Iraq is a s**t hole of a war and America should not be there. When I told him my son was in Navy on a Carrier and that his fellow sailors did not agree, I never receive another response. So this post is for the deluded few who do not realize that the American military personnel are fighting for your freedom, liberty and security at to be maintained at home. AND they are happy to do so; however they are unhappy with hearing the kind of propaganda that the New York Times is reporting.

I am going to post in entirety from Pedestrian Infidel.
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This US Army lieutenant, Lt. Cotton of Texas, USA, on duty in the combat zone, writes this scathing letter about the Traitor Times (AKA the New York Times).

Dear Messrs. Keller, Lichtblau & Risen:

Congratulations on disclosing our government's highly classified anti-terrorist-financing program (June 23). I apologize for not writing sooner. But I am a lieutenant in the United States Army and I spent the last four days patrolling one of the more dangerous areas in Iraq. (Alas, operational security and common sense prevent me from even revealing this unclassified location in a private medium like email.)

Unfortunately, as I supervised my soldiers late one night, I heard a booming explosion several miles away. I learned a few hours later that a powerful roadside bomb killed one soldier and severely injured another from my 130-man company. I deeply hope that we can find and kill or capture the terrorists responsible for that bomb. But, of course, these terrorists do not spring from the soil like Plato's guardians. No, they require financing to obtain mortars and artillery shells, priming explosives, wiring and circuitry, not to mention for training and payments to locals willing to emplace bombs in exchange for a few months' salary. As your story states, the program was legal, briefed to Congress, supported in the government and financial industry, and very successful.

Not anymore. You may think you have done a public service, but you have gravely endangered the lives of my soldiers and all other soldiers and innocent Iraqis here. Next time I hear that familiar explosion — or next time I feel it — I will wonder whether we could have stopped that bomb had you not instructed terrorists how to evade our financial surveillance.

And, by the way, having graduated from Harvard Law and practiced with a federal appellate judge and two Washington law firms before becoming an infantry officer, I am well-versed in the espionage laws relevant to this story and others — laws you have plainly violated. I hope that my colleagues at the Department of Justice match the courage of my soldiers here and prosecute you and your newspaper to the fullest extent of the law. By the time we return home, maybe you will be in your rightful place: not at the Pulitzer announcements, but behind bars.

Very truly yours,
Tom Cotton
Baghdad, Iraq