Truth in the sports pages

Brian Ettkin, sports writer for the Times Union , writes here:

Our soldiers fight this war on terrorism for freedom -- right? -- truth, justice and the American way?

So why, after the death of former Arizona Cardinals safety Pat Tillman by "friendly fire," was the truth concealed and justice subverted?

Why is it a building as massive as the Pentagon could be constructed in 16 months, but after 25 months and three Army probes -- a fourth, a criminal one, is ongoing -- unvarnished answers to Cpl. Tillman's parents' questions have yet to be provided?

Why? Because our government couldn't handle the truth. "I'm not proud of the fact, frankly, that it's a couple years later and the Army is still investigating this thing," said Fletcher Lamkin, president of Westminster College in Fulton, Mo. Lamkin is a retired Army brigadier general and former dean of academics at West Point.

Let’s remember all our veterans today, but let us not forget that political leaders do not always send our young men and women off to war for honest reasons, as discussed here:

What are national leaders to do when they want to thoroughly discredit another country or mount an attack when a provocation is lacking?

"Casus belli" is defined in my dictionary as (1) "an event or combination of events which is a cause of war, or (2) may be alleged as a justification of war." So the time-honored answer is: If you don't have a casus belli, go for option 2 and invent one.