Sir, - As a naturalised US citizen (originally from Cork), I pledged allegiance to the United States: ". . .I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state or sovereignty. . ." But I never renounced my right to express my views on issues, foreign or domestic.
The US Constitution guarantees me that right. It is not un-American to disagree with a government policy; indeed, we the people have a right and civic responsibility to express our views.
That is why I found it disappointing and disingenuous of Condoleezza Rice, President Bush's National Security Advisor, to call on the media to be careful about airing video footage of Osama bin Laden, alleging he may be sending messages to terrorists.
The terrorists who carried out the September 11th attacks communicated with sophisticated codes which the FBI is still trying to crack. Terrorists are not waiting for American channels to re-broadcast footage from the Al-Jazeera station, which are available on many websites. The real reason the Bush administration wishes to black out bin Laden is that, while he is an evil person, he strikes a cord with many people, Muslim and non-Muslin, around the world when he speaks of hypocrisy and double standards in global politics.
Why is America prepared to bomb some UN resolutions into force, while ignoring others? We insist on democracy in Cuba, while we collude with dictatorships such as Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, with their deplorable human rights records, especially in regard to women and ethnic minorities.
It is also very sad to see the television networks cave in to the wishes of the administration. It is no wonder that more and more Americans are turning to alternative media and to international outlets to get news. - Yours, etc.,
Maureen Collins, Polk Street, San Francisco, USA.