LETTERS: Heck not helping to solve terrorism problem

Heck not helping

If Rep. Joe Heck has been working so hard with his committee colleagues to bring the full capabilities of our armed forces and intelligence community to finish the fight against ISlL, as he says in his commentary, then why is there so much left to do? ("Candidates must have plan to confront terrorism," Monday Review-Journal). After all, Rep. Heck has been in Congress the whole time that ISIL has been doing its worst in Iraq and Syria.

Is it that congressional committees don't really do much beyond talking and trying their best to place blame for the world's problems on others? Rep. Heck should tell us specifically what he has done to prevent or reduce violence, instead of trying to blame historic events such as Pearl Harbor and 9/11 on the current president. Could Rep. Heck, also a brigadier general, stoop to the level of helping the current administration with the terrorist problem, instead of trying to stir up a fight between religions?

If you make the world's current terrorism problem a fight between Islam and all other religions, it will only help ISIL recruit more fighters. Additionally, not letting war refugees enter the United States because they don't have the correct papers or references goes against everything our country has always stood for.

One also shouldn't forget that we average about 17,000 homicides a year in this country, perpetrated by our own citizens on each other. Is that acceptable? It would take a lot of refugees dedicated to violence to make even a blemish on that record. What is Rep. Heck doing about everyday violence in our homes and on our streets?

Charles Parrish

Las Vegas

Muddied Middle East

When Jim Blockey says we need to send our troops to Syria, I hope in the future he rephrases that to, "I would like to volunteer my services and the services of my children." Then his Rambo-esque solution will have more personal implications ("Engaging with Syria," Dec. 10 letter).

The current Iraqi military, with our help, is now essentially fighting the previous Iraqi military now known as ISIS. When we toppled that Iraqi government, we disbanded a very seasoned and effective military without offering those soldiers amnesty, then stood up another unit that, from foot soldier to general, had literally no military experience. That's why ISIS has been so effective against the greenhorn militia we put in place.

These people must finish this fight for their own country. They must gain experience and confidence as a military force to be able to protect their own country without our help — to not turn and run at the first sign of danger. A return of Western forces on the ground in the Middle East, killing Muslims, will be used as another recruiting tool by ISIS. The entire right-wing noise machine (including some of their presidential candidates) is doing a bang-up job recruiting for ISIS already, through careless and insane statements that support the ISIS claim that the West wants to destroy Islam.

Being the most powerful nation in the world does bring responsibilities, but there are consequences as well. We are so big and powerful that we suffer no discipline for our actions, even when we destroy world economies and destabilize entire regions of this planet. I feel sorry for citizens of the rest of the countries on this planet. Depending on who sits in the White House, their lives can be greatly impacted, from their personal safety to the very air they breathe, and they have no say whatsoever on who is elected.

Let's hope the American people can do the entire world a favor and return another sane and intelligent person to the White House.

Rick Reynolds

Las Vegas

Political slant

I have no idea what newspaper Ron Moers is reading, but his letter stating that the Review-Journal has changed its political slant toward the left made me laugh out loud ("Evolving slant," Dec. 12 Review-Journal).

I have subscribed to the Review-Journal for 23 years, and I am about as far from conservative as they come. Unfortunately, I have no other local newspaper choice except for the Sun, which has been relegated to just a section inside the R-J. I am fairly certain the R-J's political slant is, if anything, leaning more to the right than it ever has.

If Mr. Moers really is concerned his beloved newspaper is becoming too progressive, all he needs to do is look right below his letter to the Opinion page's "All A-Twitter" feature every day. That ought to satisfy his political leaning just fine.

Tracey Howard

Las Vegas