In reply to “The Worms in the Apple,” by Justin Raimondo, 09/18/09:

Editor’s Note

Several readers have pointed out that this article misidentified Yigal Amir as the assassin of Yitzhak Shamir, who served as Prime Minister of Israel in 1983-84 and from 1986 to 1992 and who is still alive. Amir assassinated Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in 1995. We regret the error.

Best regards,
Tom Knapp
Backtalk Editor

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Justin Raimondo writes:

“If the Israelis have launched a covert operation in this country designed to push us into war — not the first time such an effort has been made by a foreign power, and no doubt not the last — one can hardly blame them. They, after all, are simply doing what all nation-states everywhere do: pursuing their own national interests.”

Does your organization truly support such amoral pragmatism and betrayal of trust — particularly backed by tu quoque arguments — i.e. “everyone does it?”

Brian McCandliss

Editor’s response: In a word, no. Acknowledgement of an entity’s nature and rational expectation, rather than surprise, that said entity would act according to that nature do not constitute “support.” As a student of Murray N. Rothbard, Mr. Raimondo expects the actions of the state (any state) to embody, as Mr. McCandliss would have it, “amoral pragmatism,” just as he expects a fox to steal chickens’ eggs or a virus to cause cold symptoms – TLK

In reply to “What Price Afghanistan?” by Justin Raimondo, 09/14/09:

Now that Afghanistan is back in the news it might be time to remind the American people that the Taliban after 9/11 told the Bush administration the following:

1. If sufficient evidence was supplied that bin Laden was involved in 9/11 they would turn him over to the US for trial.

2. If such evidence was not yet available, they would immediately turn him over to a “neutral country” or the Hague while evidence was gathered.

Mr. Bush’s answer was: “There’s no need to discuss innocence or guilt. We know he’s guilty.”

How many thousands have suffered and died because of Mr. Bush’s intransigence?

Ted Brucker