Sununu kowtows to would-be dictator Trump: Letters

Sununu supports Trump over rule of law

April 15 -- To the Editor:

ABC’s George Stephanopoulos recently asked New Hampshire governor Chris Sununu about his support for Donald Trump, even if he is convicted of charged offenses. After Sununu described how he believes voters see things, Stephanopoulos asked Sununu about his support for Trump.

"Just to sum up," Stephanopoulos said, "You support [Trump] for president even if he's convicted in [the] classified documents [case]. You support him for president even though you believe he contributed to an insurrection. You support him for president even though you believe he's lying about the last election. You support him for president even if he's convicted in the Manhattan case. I just want to say, the answer to that is yes, correct?"

Sununu answered: "Yeah. Me and 51% of America." "This is about politics," Sununu said. “It’s about [our political] culture.”

It has been noted that politicians and donors fear retaliation if they don't join the Trump team. Militant Trumpists have threatened politicians, judicial officials, investigators, witnesses and their families, and Trump has made clear that he intends to use the power of the state to crush those who have not supported him. He tried to do this during his presidency but was restrained by “guardrails” that will not be at hand in a second term. If Trump is returned to power, he will use the power of the state to threaten anyone who does not do as told.

When Trump took office in 2017, he swore an oath of allegiance, to defend against enemies foreign and domestic.  In failing to safeguard classified information he has aided our enemies. In covering up facts that voters should know, lying about election outcomes and inciting an insurrection, he committed serious criminal violations.

For Chris Sununu, governor of this great state, to support Trump even if he is convicted shows a disquieting lack of respect for the rule of law.

Don Nolte

Exeter

Sununu kowtows to would-be dictator

April 15 −To the Editor:

George Stephanopolous asked Gov. Sununu point blank if he would support Trump for president even if he were convicted of crimes he is accused of, and Sununu said yes. Our state's leader is willing to kowtow to a would-be dictator and pragmatically put politics over principle.

Where is Sununu's pledge to support our Constitution which Trump wants to destroy to satisfy his boundless ego? Sununu is a poor model for leadership that calls to our higher values.

Peter A Thomas

Exeter

Hamas apologists, intentionally or not, support status quo of violence

April 16 -- To the Editor:

Mr. Lalos left out a few details in his history of Palestine.

First, his ancient history. The Late Bronze Age civilization of the Mediterranean basin collapsed in a prolonged drought in the 12 Century BCE. The Philistines, after whom Palestine is named, were climate refugees from Crete and the islands. The Canaanites were in open rebellion against the aristocracy who were hoarding the food stocks, and the Israelites were refugees from Egypt comprised of a mix of Abrahamic descendants and the remnants of Akhenaton’s’ failed experiment with monotheism. Out that collapse emerged a new world order, in which those groups eventually merged forming the Israelite kingdom in what is now Israel/Palestine. That lasted until the Roman Conquest when their descendants dispersed and became the antecedents to what we know as modern Judaism.

More importantly, during Ottoman times Jews fleeing Spain were welcomed by the Sultan and prospered. Many were religious, but as Mr. Lalos noted, a rise in European anti-Semitism in the 19^th century led to Jewish flight from Europe and the emergence of Judaism as a nationalistic identity, not just religious.. This new form of anti-Semitism is based upon the publication of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, basically the allegation of an international Jewish banker’s conspiracy, and it led directly to the Hitler and Holocaust.

In the early 20^th century the Palestinians were in two main clans, the Nashashibi’s who welcomed the Jews seeing an influx of capital and thus prosperity, and the Husseini’s who opposed Jewish immigration because they had been infected with the European style anti-Semitism just described. The Nashashibi’s were signatories to the Balfour declaration, but a new British administration reversed the policy with the White Papers, and appointed Haj Amin Husseini as Mufti of Jerusalem. Thus began the anti-Jewish riots in the 1920’s and 30’s, the formation of the Hagenah as a Jewish defense force, and the more radical Jabotinsky wing that has become the Netanyahu crowd. Mr. Lalos notes that by 1947 the Jewish population of Palestine had grown to about 630,000.  This is despite a British blockade. With the end of the Mandate, Holocaust survivors could enter freely.

During all this the Arabs of Palestine were just that. The Arabs of Palestine. By the mid 60’s under the leadership of Yasser Arafat, the Arabs of Palestine emerged as a separate nationalistic identity, Palestinians, and that’s what they are today. Arafat and the PLO chose the path of violent resistance with the goal of liberating ALL of Palestine from ALL the Jews, just as they had fled from the various Arab countries to Israel during Israel’s war of independence in 1948. That is the goal of Hamas. Their cadre of apologists, like Mr. Lalos, are supporting that whether intentionally or not. Had the Arafat crowd chosen the path of non-violence, as did Ghandi and MLK, and finding a way for Palestinians to live in peace and harmony alongside the Jews, things would be very different today and we would not be witnessing the horrific scene going on in Gaza even as I write.

Jeffrey Cooper

Portsmouth

Biased writer ignores Clinton, Biden handling of classified information

April 16 -- To the Editor:

In a very recent letter to the editor, Don Cavallaro of Rye took Donald Trump to task with regard to his classified documents case. He even went so far to call Trump a threat to our national security. I’m not going to get into the nuts and bolts of this case which, on the surface, is flimsy at best. I will point out that the writer failed to bring up Hillary Clinton who maintained classified server in her private residence and who obstructed justice by disposing of evidence. He also failed to bring up Biden’s case in which Biden illegally maintained classified docs in a number of areas to include his garage right next to his antique Corvette. The Gardner must have had some great reading over the years. So, Biden and Clinton were not threats to our national security but Trump is? Mr. Cavallaro, you have an obvious agenda, be fair and don’t cherry pick.

Dan Hurley

Dover

Peace will only come after Israel destroys Hamas

April 16 − To the Editor:

In his April 12 letter, Peter Somssich calls upon the Portsmouth City Council to reconsider a ceasefire resolution concerning the war between Israel and Hamas.  His arguments in favor of considering such a resolution are not persuasive, however.  First of all, he fails to discuss whether it is appropriate for city officials to debate issues of foreign policy on behalf of all the residents of Portsmouth.  I don't believe it is appropriate because residents elected those officials based on their ability to manage municipal affairs, not because of any expertise in military and foreign affairs.

Second, Mr. Somssich supports a ceasefire resolution because of a supposedly "non-proportional response" by the IDF after Hamas launched a barbaric attack on southern Israel on October 7.  He claims that 32,000 Palestinians have died in Gaza since the IDF began its campaign to eliminate Hamas as a future threat to Israeli civilians.  But where did this widely cited casualty number come from?  From the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry.  Why should we believe such statistics when Hamas has been designated a terrorist organization by the US government?  A detailed analysis of Gaza casualty numbers conducted by Abraham Wyner, statistics professor at the Wharton School, demonstrates that these numbers are almost certainly fabricated.

But what if the Palestinian casualty figures were actually accurate (which they are not)?  Would Mr. Somssich be happier if 30,000 Israelis had died in this war so far?  Would that be "proportionate"?  Israel could stop protecting its own population by shutting down civilian bomb shelters and by shutting down Iron Dome batteries that protect against Hamas, Hezbollah and Iranian rocket barrages.  Then Israel would be imitating Hamas which provides no protection for the civilian population of Gaza but pours massive resources into building a tunnel system to protect Hamas fighters.  Would a war between Israel and Hamas be a "just war" under these conditions?  I don't think so.

Finally, I believe that Mr. Somssich is naive if he believes an immediate ceasefire would provide an "opportunity for all parties involved to look for a long-term solution to this conflict."  Israel was seeking peace when the IDF withdrew from Gaza in 2005 and forced all Jewish residents to leave.  Within two years, Hamas seized control of Gaza and quickly began to launch terrorist attacks and rocket barrages at Israel.  Hamas and its Iranian sponsor are both fanatically dedicated to destroying the State of Israel.  A ceasefire will only allow Hamas to regroup, rearm and resume its attacks on Israel.  One step to a permanent peace in the region would be for the IDF to finish the job of destroying Hamas.

Richard England

Durham

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Sununu kowtows to would-be dictator Trump: Letters