Muslims fearful of internment

In his book, "The Audacity of Hope," Barack Obama wrote about the concerns of the Arab-Americans. They wanted assurances that America had learned the right lessons from the Japanese internments during World War II.

For those that don't remember: During the war with Japan, the government removed all Japanese-Americans from their homes, their businesses and their communities and incarcerated them for the duration of the war. They lost all their property and had to start anew after the war. Was this motivated for security reasons or was this a racist reaction? How come the German-Americans and the Italian-Americans were not interned?

Now that we are involved in Afghanistan and having to deal with the surrounding Muslim countries, Arab-Americans are naturally concerned that the government could round them all up and intern them, too. This is what President Obama mentioned in his book, not that he was on the Muslim side, as Rep. Judy Burges said in her extremely biased interpretation.

I realize that there are radical extremists on both sides, that's why we need a diplomatic leader in this crucial time. I believe President Obama is the right man at the right time.

If we met and talked to world leaders, foreign dignitaries and royalty, how many of us are knowledgeable enough to use the correct protocol? President Obama has met many important people during his first year in office and despite his last-minute briefings, I'm sure some minor errors in etiquette have been made.

In fact, all our presidents have made their little blunders. If this is the only nit-picking flaw you can find, then he's doing OK. I wonder how flawless Rep. Burges would be! Of course, with her attitude and paranoia, she should probably stay closer to home.

TOM VALDEZ, Foothills