Letter: This is not helping

Editor, Daily News:

It is certainly a sorry day when the American mainstream media chooses to malign and defame our Marines and military in Iraq who have, throughout history, demonstrated not only their bravery and heroism to keep us free, but compassion towards all civilian noncombatants, especially women and children.

The media convicts them of wrongdoing in articles such as "Killings toughen U.S. job; Haditha revelations give boost to insurgency" and "Abuses taint all American troops."

They contain innuendo couched in terms such as "allegedly," but with clear words of conviction that they are guilty without waiting for the results of the ongoing inquiry.

There are also related stories on civilian casualties without telling the American public and the world that most of these casualties, both Shiites and Sunnis, were caused by terrorists and al-Qaida, a great many to provoke sectarian violence.

Just how many more than the 300,000-plus civilians murdered by Saddam Hussein up to 2003 would have been killed had he stayed in power?

Ralph E. Patsfall , Fort Myers