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an independent newspaper EDITORIALS


merits the hype offered by the Web site’s found- er. The archive is not comparable to the Penta- gon Papers or the secret files of the East German Stasi secret police, as Julian Assange variously claimed on Sunday and Monday. Nor does it pro- vide evidence for war crimes prosecutions — though in making that assertion, Wikileaks’ founder revealed his organization’s antiwar agenda. Rather, the Wikileaks material tends to fill out and confirm the narrative of Afghanistan be- tween 2004 and 2009 that most Americans are already familiar with. The insurgency grew steadily stronger in those years, while U.S. and NATO forces suffered from insufficient resourc-


T A vote for


disclosure The Senate can provide some honesty through campaign finance reform.


S


ENATORS ARE facing a simple, fateful decision: Do they want to allow millions of dollars from corporations, labor unions and wealthy individuals to pour,


undisclosed, into U.S. elections? The key word is undisclosed. The existing crazy quilt of cam- paign finance reporting rules was already threadbare. Then the Supreme Court stepped in, ruling in the Citizens United case that corpo- rations and labor unions could spend unlimited sums advocating the election or defeat of feder- al candidates. That made the implications of that regulatory patchwork far more dangerous. Corporations now can funnel money to a


trade association to target Representative Y or Senator X. The trade association must report its spending to the Federal Election Commission, but it doesn’t have to say where the money comes from. Labor unions could set up front groups to do the same. Under another gap in disclosure rules, wealthy individuals who want to influence elections without the inconven- ience of having their cash exposed can give money to nonprofit groups set up under Section 501(c)(4) of the tax code. Such organizations face limits on how much they can spend on election-related activities, but the limits are hardly an impediment. According to a report in Politico, conservatives recently created one such group, American Crossroads GPS. “I wouldn’t want to discount the value of confi- dentiality to some donors,” said its president, Steven Law. The House last month passed a measure, known as the Disclose Act, that would strength- en disclosure rules. There are some flaws in the proposal — for instance, it goes too far in pro- hibiting independent expenditures by govern- ment contractors. And there is an unfortunate exemption from the disclosure requirements, demanded by the National Rifle Association as the price of not opposing the measure, for large, well-established national organizations. None- theless, the essence of the legislation is correct and critical to making certain that elections are not secretly influenced by special interests. As the Supreme Court itself said in the Citi-


zens United case, “The First Amendment pro- tects political speech; and disclosure permits citizens and shareholders to react to the speech of corporate entities in a proper way. This transparency enables the electorate to make in- formed decisions and give proper weight to dif- ferent speakers and messages.” The Senate faces a vote, perhaps as early as this week, about whether to kill or proceed with the Disclose Act. Senators who care about maintaining a


transparent campaign finance system should vote to go forward with the measure. Its short- comings can be addressed, but its central focus is critical to ensuring that democracy is not for sale to the highest bidder.


The release of thousands of classified field reports on the Afghan war reveals . . . not much.


HOUGH IT may represent one of the most voluminous leaks of classified military information in U.S. history, the release by Wikileaks of 92,000 re- ports on the war in Afghanistan hardly


es. The Afghan government and army, and espe- cially its police forces, were plagued with corrup- tion. Pakistan’s intelligence agency was suspect- ed of maintaining links to the Taliban and even of supporting some terrorist attacks inside Af- ghanistan. And Afghan civilian casualties were a continual problem. These were the main themes identified in the


documents by the New York Times, the Guardian and Germany’s Der Spiegel after weeks of review. They were also the main topics in media cover- age of the war during that time, in congressional hearings and debate, and even in the accounts of the White House and the Pentagon. The ar- chives, made up in large part of field reports about specific incidents, add detail and texture. But, as described by the news organizations, they hardly provide a secret history of the war or disclose previously unknown malfeasance. The Times account of the documents focuses


on reports of Pakistani contacts with the Tali- ban. But the Guardian’s review concludes that much of that information is unreliable. The Brit- ish newspaper in turn highlights what it says are 144 reported incidents in which Afghan civilians were killed or wounded by coalition forces. But the 195 deaths it counts in those episodes, though regrettable, do not constitute a shocking total for a four-year period. The Obama administration harshly con- demned the release of documents, saying they “could put the lives of Americans and our part- ners at risk, and threaten our national security.” But that, too, seemed an exaggeration. Both Wi- kileaks and the news organizations said they had withheld documents and other information that might endanger individuals. On the whole, the reports appear likely to add modestly to public understanding of the war. But they are not likely to change many minds.


TOM TOLES


TUESDAY, JULY 27, 2010


LETTERS TO THE EDITOR dletters@washpost.com


Alternatives to speed cameras D.C. Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier said in the


July 21 Metro story “District adds 12 speed cameras” that more speed cameras are justified because the city wants to reduce dangerous driving behavior. Some transparency would help credibility here. What are the statistics? I don’t dispute the effective- ness of the cameras, but I do question the District’s lack of enforcement of existing traffic laws. My job requires me to spend a great deal of each


day driving in the city, and I have noted a systemic problem with the lack of enforcement regarding jay- walking, full stops at stop signs and constant red light running. If police enforced the laws that gov- ern these behaviors, the city would take a big step to greater safety — a greater step, I suspect, than it would with speed cameras. PETER M. SCHAEFER, Washington


What immigration law really says


Doris Meissner and James W. Ziglar’s July 22 op- ed piece, “Why the U.S. had to challenge Arizona on immigration,” misstated the facts about Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. That section of law establishes a mechanism for formal cooperation between the Department of Homeland Security and state and local law enforcement agen- cies. Then-Sen. Alan Simpson (R-Wyo.) and I wrote the law. Ms. Meissner and Mr. Ziglar asserted that Ari-


zona’s immigration enforcement law “appears to go well beyond the intent of 287(g).” They also claimed that the federal government “must expressly del- egate . . . authority” to states that wish to aid in the enforcement of our immigration laws. In fact, paragraph 10 of section 287(g) specifically provides for the type of law that Arizona has en- acted. It states: “Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to require an agreement . . . in order for any officer of a State . . . to communicate with the [Secretary of Homeland Security] regarding the im- migration status of any individual . . . or otherwise to cooperate with the [Secretary] in the identifica- tion, apprehension, detention, or removal of aliens not lawfully present in the United States.” The writers may be unfamiliar with Section


287(g) because they only entered into two such agreements in their nine combined years at the Im- migration and Naturalization Service. LAMAR SMITH, Washington


The writer is the ranking Republican on the House Judiciary Committee.


How to ride out a stuck elevator In the July 23 Reliable Source column, Laurence


H. Tribe said that “we were getting short of air” while he and his friend were stuck in a stalled Safe- way elevator. But elevators are not airtight com- partments, so there is no threat of suffocation. I have been a D.C. firefighter for 20 years, and in


Mr. Gray’s ‘autonomy’ Would he meddle in D.C. schools as mayor?


E


XAMINING the education policy of D.C. Council Chairman and mayoral hopeful Vincent C. Gray (D), we have highlighted what we saw as contradictory actions. “He


says that public schools should have the same au- tonomy and flexibility as charter schools, but when the Woodrow Wilson High School principal opted not to retain a biology teacher, Mr. Gray convened a hearing,” we wrote on July 11. Not so, says D.C. Council member Mary M. Cheh (D-Ward 3) and others who contacted us to tell us that it was Wil- son students who raised the issue and that the oc- casion was actually one of Mr. Gray’s monthly youth hearings. We would like to correct the rec- ord: Mr. Gray did not convene a hearing for the purpose of discussing the teacher’s fate. We will leave it up to readers to determine if we were wrong in suggesting an element of micromanage- ment.


At issue is the 2008 controversy that surrounded the dismissal of biology teacher Art Siebens as part of a restructuring of Woodrow Wilson High School. Students and parents at the Ward 3 school launched an effort in support of Mr. Siebens, peti- tioning Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) and Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee. Both backed the deci- sion by Wilson Principal Peter Cahall in the belief that those who are responsible for school results should be given responsibility. On July 11, 2008,


Mr. Gray convened a hearing billed as “Progress in Modernizing and Improving District of Columbia School Facilities” in which four students — one of whom had previously e-mailed the chairman — testified in support of Mr. Siebens. Mr. Gray, who opened the hearing with a statement critical of the “tenor and pace” of school reform, appeared sym- pathetic to the students’ concerns. He said it sounded as if Mr. Siebens was exactly the kind of teacher the city needed and that it was unfortu- nate the council couldn’t do anything about it. The following day, Mr. Gray held one of his monthly (and commendable) youth hearings and Wilson students again testified. Again Mr. Gray was sympathetic, commenting: “I wish we had the authority to be able to hire him back, because I would in a New York minute . . . everything we’ve heard thus far would suggest an egregious error has been made here and that our young people are going to be deprived of a wonderful teacher, role model and somebody who loves his students.” Mr. Gray followed up with a meeting with Ms. Rhee, and a spokeswoman for his campaign stressed that he deferred to the chancellor. But as council chairman, he didn’t have much choice; as mayor, he would have the power to interfere. His statements in this case might lead voters to ask whether Mr. Gray will back his frontline educators, even when they don’t do the popular thing.


that time have released thousands of people from stalled elevators. In those 20 years, there have been three elevator-related fatalities in the city that I am aware of, and all three of those people exited the el- evator car before the arrival of a qualified rescuer. One person fell down the elevator shaft, and two were crushed when the car moved as they were exiting. Anyone stuck in an elevator should call for help using the intercom in the elevator or a cellphone, or by drawing the attention of people waiting for the elevator. After that, he or she should remain calm and not try to force the doors open (the outer doors come off the tracks easily, and this can further delay rescue). This also applies to anyone outside the el- evator; don’t try to pry the doors open. Then, wait for trained help, such as a building maintenance worker, a technician from the eleva- tor company or the fire department. It may get warmer in the car, and the air may seem stale, but the situation is truly one of inconvenience rather than peril.


ERICMCGUIRE, Silver Spring


The writer is a lieutenant with D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services.


Of Journolist and journalists Regarding Howard Kurtz’s July 23 Style article,


“Getting the message on Journolist”: I was struck by the quote from Chris Hayes,


Washington bureau chief of the Nation. Mr. Hayes complained that revelations about the Rev. Jeremi- ah Wright were a “ludicrous” attempt by Tucker Carlson to get attention for his site, the Daily Caller. He was then quoted as saying, “You don’t need an e- mail list to coordinate a bunch of people into think- ing that Barack Obama would be a better president than John McCain.” He’s assuming an awful lot here.


On the contrary, a lot of voters were depending on these e-mail list members, i.e., journalists, to give us information, including about Mr. Obama’s relationship with Jeremiah Wright, so that we could make up our minds about who would be the better president. We even think that’s our job, not the job of the person reporting. MARGARETWHITEHEAD, Falls Church


Understating medical dangers


LOCAL OPINIONS 3Join the debate at washingtonpost.com/localopinions


Misplaced criticism of D.C.’s juvenile justice reformers


The July 23 editorial “Judged too soon” crit- icized me and other advocates for raising seri- ous concerns about Mayor Adrian M. Fenty’s commitment to juvenile justice reform and for calling for an investigation of D.C. Attorney General Peter Nickles’s involvement in the re- cent shakeup at the Department of Youth Re- habilitation Services and other decisions re- garding juvenile justice. The Post alleged that I and others acted rashly and without merit. Nothing could be further from the truth. The mayor’s decision to abruptly and with- out consultation replace Marc A. Schindler as interim director of the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services should alone raise questions. The mayor’s decision to replace Mr. Schindler with Robert Hildum, a D.C. assis- tant attorney general who at Mr. Nickles’s re- quest authored a “confidential” report criticiz- ing juvenile justice reform, raises more.


The fact that I and others asked for an in-


vestigation of Mr. Nickles’s involvement in Mr. Schindler’s replacement and other decisions on juvenile justice demonstrates our commit- ment to reducing youth recidivism — the op- posite of what The Post accuses us of. Despite the fact that Mr. Nickles was warned by Judge Herbert Dixon about a po- tential conflict of interest for his role in the Jerry M. case regarding the District’s juvenile justice system, it appears that Mr. Nickles re- peatedly gave counsel to the mayor that a rea- sonable observer could view as a conflict with his previous position as lead plaintiff ’s coun- sel. I ask The Post’s editorial board: Whose rushed judgment? Yours or mine? LIZ RYAN, Washington


The writer is president and chief executive of the Campaign for Youth Justice.


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Harlan Krumholz’s July 23 op-ed, “Health re-


search’s ‘negative’ benefits,” didn’t go far enough. Knowing which medical “therapies” do no good or are harmful is only half of the solution. We need to take the final step and prohibit doctors from using these therapies. As a patient, I can’t be expected to know what


therapies should or should not be used, but doctors don’t seem to know and use this information either. This means that many useless or harmful therapies will continue to cost patients money and cause us pain. If there is a lot of publicity, then doctors stop using a therapy: Think of hormone therapy for menopausal women. Unfortunately, most of the time one barely hears about these studies, and one certainly cannot re- member them while sitting in the emergency room. We need some type of national medical board to oversee medicine that has the financial clout to en- sure that hospitals and medical practices use only science-based and effective medicine. DEBORAH TURTON, Gaithersburg


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