Lying letter a disservice to writer, public and faith

Editor,

In Wednesday’s letter, “Media had no evidence al-Awlaki was a terrorist,” Muhajir Romero made several accusations about the Western media lying about al-Awlaki being a terrorist.

I think Mr. Romero needs to get his facts straight. It has been reported many times by the CIA and FBI that al-Awlaki was recruiting and inciting terrorist attacks against the United States.

Mr. Romero says the Western media are lying about al-Awlaki, but the media get their sources about al-Awlaki from the reports from these agencies. He uses 9/11 and the intelligence gathered on the weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) to try to prove his point.

I agree that the media dropped the ball on the WMDs, but they didn’t lie about it. He then makes the accusation that the media lied about the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, which is false. In fact, the government issued a report called the “9/11 Commission Report.” I recommend that Mr. Romero read it to learn the truth about the attacks.

Furthermore, the issue that should have been raised is whether it was legal to assassinate al-Awlaki, due to his being a United States citizen. He never brought that issue to light. Instead, he brings up the idea that al-Awlaki was innocent, contrary to all the reports of the CIA and FBI that said that al-Awlaki was involved with Al-Qaeda in attacks against the United States.

He goes on to say that this man was a martyr for Islam. Last time I checked, a man that incites violence upon his fellow man is one the majority of Muslims don’t consider to be a good Muslim.

I believe Islam is a religion of peace just like Christianity and other faiths. Mr. Romero does a disservice to himself by saying that al-Awlaki is a martyr and not a terrorist.

Salvador Vega
UNM student