Press Room
Letter to The Washington Times
The following NAFSA letter was published in the October 30, 2002, issue of The Washington Times.
To the Editor:
What is it about terrible times that brings out both the best and the worst in Americans? On the one hand, September 11 has resulted in acts of great heroism, a resurgence of patriotism, renewed interest in national service, and a sense of national unity. On the other, it has occasioned mindless acts of cannibalism by American citizens against each other as they look for people to blame, exemplified by the article "State employee whose office let hijackers in U.S. gets a bonus" [Page 1, Oct. 23]. Foreign Service officers are not scoundrels who aid and abet terrorism. Neither are intelligence officers, FBI officials, Immigration and Naturalization Service personnel, airport security people, foreign student advisers or any of the other patriotic Americans who have been victims of the post-September 11 blame game. They didn't do this to us; the terrorists did.
I'm old enough to remember the McCarthy era. We don't need to live through that again.
Victor C. Johnson
Associate Executive Director for Public Policy
NAFSA: Association of International Educators
To the Editor:
What is it about terrible times that brings out both the best and the worst in Americans? On the one hand, September 11 has resulted in acts of great heroism, a resurgence of patriotism, renewed interest in national service, and a sense of national unity. On the other, it has occasioned mindless acts of cannibalism by American citizens against each other as they look for people to blame, exemplified by the article "State employee whose office let hijackers in U.S. gets a bonus" [Page 1, Oct. 23]. Foreign Service officers are not scoundrels who aid and abet terrorism. Neither are intelligence officers, FBI officials, Immigration and Naturalization Service personnel, airport security people, foreign student advisers or any of the other patriotic Americans who have been victims of the post-September 11 blame game. They didn't do this to us; the terrorists did.
I'm old enough to remember the McCarthy era. We don't need to live through that again.
Victor C. Johnson
Associate Executive Director for Public Policy
NAFSA: Association of International Educators
