Two Wrong Sides

To the Editors of the Crimson:

That I consider "anti-war" demonstrators partially responsible for the current Indochinese situation is true. That such a view, as Paul Barrett implies in his Crimson commentary, renders me a slavish supporter of American foreign policy since the Second World War is untrue, as Mr. Barrett knows but slyly disguised in his article.

America erred in Indochina in many ways and at many times. It makes similar errors in its current support for dictatorships of both the left and right. However, this does not change the fact that the "anti-war" demonstrators claimed that an American pull-out from Indochina would grant the people relatively free and humane governments. The protestors were horribly wrong, a fact which they, and Mr. Barrett, continue to obfuscate. America is responsible for much of the suffering in Indochina. Neither the hawks nor doves are entirely innocent both should now honestly assess their responsibility for the plight of the Indochinese. May the Lao, the Vicinamese and the Khmer people forgive us all for our mistakes. Mark A. Sauter '82