12:12 PM CST on Friday, February 17, 2006

Associated Press

Former Vice President Al Gore in Saudi Arabia

Re: "Gore tells Saudis: U.S. abused Arabs after 9/11," Tuesday World Briefs.

The elements of treason are defined as "assisting its enemies at war" and "providing aid and comfort to the enemies of one's government." By all accounts, that is exactly what Al Gore did in his recent speech in Saudi Arabia, yet the mainline media do not see fit to report it.

The text and commentary are provided by talk radio and cable news, but only a small paragraph appears on Page 13A of The Dallas Morning News .

Vice President Dick Cheney's hunting accident apparently is more worthy of front-page attention than a former vice president's inaccurate comments about America's treatment of Muslims.

Mr. Gore's anti-American remarks, in a Muslim country, add fuel to the Muslims' irrational hatred of us and certainly meet the definition of providing aid and comfort to the enemy.

The lack of media attention is another example of why the public distrusts the news media and what they report.

Tom Collingwood, Richardson

Re: "Whose side is Gore on?" by Kathleen Parker, yesterday's Viewpoints.

Ms. Parker has some kind of bone to pick with the former vice president. Her use of quotation marks was a bit confusing, too. Some might think that Al Gore actually made those lame remarks.

Listen, Al ain't perfect. None of us are. However, in this case, he appears to be trying to act as a statesman, bridging a gap, while Ms. Parker is stuck in the mold of the ugly American.

Dennis Baum, Dallas

Re: "Gore tells Saudis: U.S. abused Arabs after 9/11," Tuesday World Briefs.

Had a prominent Republican traveled to foreign soil to speak ill of the U.S., not only would it have been the lead headline, conservatives would line up to disown his remarks. When a former Democrat vice president does it, no criticism from liberals.

Warren D. Caldwell, Richardson