So typical of the media's propensity for overemphasising the hype while understanding the facts was Simon Beck's article headlined, 'Nation's sex scapegoat' (South China Morning Post, May 22), concerning the case of US pilot Kelly Flinn, that I have to do what I can as an individual to inject a little balance.
His grandiose references to Moses and the 10 Commandments and statements such as ' . . . late 20th century update of the Scarlet Letter' makes interesting copy, but ignores important facts in this case - inconvenient though they be at times. Consider the comments made by the US Air Force's top general to a congressional hearing, 'This is not an issue about adultery, this is an issue about an officer who is entrusted to fly nuclear weapons, who disobeyed an order, who lied, that's what this is about.' I don't know about other readers, but I rest easier knowing that the Air Force is showing due diligence to ensure that people handling nuclear weapons are honest, stable and reliable.
The fact that it is common practice in US law to throw out all possible charges in the hope that some of them will stick, and that in this case it was an unpopular and antiquated charge of adultery, should not overshadow the more important question: is Kelly Flinn the kind of person we want flying nuclear weapons? How should Moses have answered that question Mr Beck? L. ALLEN Discovery Bay
