Let U.S. officials make the statements

Communist North Korea’s President Kim Jong II died a few days ago and our poli“trick”cians are voicing their opinions without consideration for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton or President Barack Obama first making an official statement. Top Republican Sen. John McCain, “Kim Jong Il is in a warm corner of hell.” Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney: “Kim Jong Il is a ruthless tyrant who lived a life of luxury ...”

Do these two men even know the threatening statements they are making without taking into account the thousands of American troops who remain as close as 50 feet from live weapons trained at them along the 38th Parallel just 40 miles north of Seoul? Do they remember the capturing of the USS Pueblo? Do they know the history of the Battle of Incheon nearly 60 years ago and how many thousands of U.S. troops were lost or suffered frostbite?

With Clinton being the official representative of the United States, it just does not seem right that McCain or Romney would make such a personal statement. In the late 1970s it was the North Korean troops who came across the border one night and chopped the heads off two Army officers and went back to North Korea undetected. It is clear to me, as a veteran of the U.S. Marines who has been to Seoul, that McCain’s and Romney’s words could put our troops in harm’s way.

Politicians need to keep their opinions to themselves and let our senior representatives make the official U.S. comments. We should hold McCain and Romney responsible for any fatalities in the coming months due to their comments. In some cases words start fights, and in this case these words could cause a war. I want all of our troops home safe and soon.

Augustin Blancas Jr.

Mount Prospect