I was surprised that the Collegian had no mention of Rep. Howard Coble's (R-N.C.) remarks last week about the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. For those of you who don't know, Coble is the chair for the House Committee on Terrorism and Homeland Defense. On Feb. 4, during an interview on WKZL-FM's Murphy in the Morning show, Coble responded to a caller's suggestion to put Arab Americans into internment camps. While he disagreed with the caller, he stated that the internment of 120,000 Japanese Americans was for their own protection, and further stating: "Some probably were intent on doing harm to us, just as some of these Arab Americans are probably intent on doing harm to us."

This, coming after the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, which stated: "The Congress recognizes that, as described in the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians, a grave injustice was done to both citizens and permanent residents of Japanese ancestry by the evacuation, relocation and internment of civilians during World War II. As the Commission documents, these actions were carried out without adequate security reasons and without any acts of espionage or sabotage documented by the Commission, and were motivated largely by racial prejudice, wartime hysteria and a failure of political leadership." How can we let a man with such ignorance remain in a position of such power?