Matthew Peterson

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Editor:

I am sure that many of your readers caught the May 15th Republican Presidential debate and subsequent media coverage on Ron Paul’s exchange with Rudy Giuliani on the cause of the World Trade Center attacks. I’d like to clarify Dr. Paul’s position since I believe it has been misrepresented in many media outlets. He did not claim that the attacks were justified, much less that the U.S. government was behind them.

Congressman Paul clearly said after and during the debate that U.S. policies over the years, including the occupation of the holy land in Saudi Arabia and the bombing of Iraq, have contributed to their hatred of us, which in turn led to the attacks on 9/11. Both of these actions were cited as grievances against the United States by Bin Laden in his 1996 Declaration of War against us. This logic is also supported by the CIA and 9/11 Commission, so it shouldn’t come off as extreme or “extraordinary.”

Thank you for allowing me to clear this up.