- The Herald-Mail- Aug 16, 2010

To the editor:

In the Aug. 3 edition of the Washington Times, U.S. Rep. Roscoe Bartlett co-authored an article titled "What if Iran already has the bomb?"

The article is filled with inaccuracies and misstatements. For the sake of brevity, I will focus my comments on the sentence "Iran only needs a single nuclear weapon to destroy the United States."

That statement reflects a basic lack of understanding of both satellite transit time and how to calculate a nuclear blast effects radius. But more significantly, it reflects a lack of understanding of the resilience and strength of the American people. While even a single nuclear incident would have significant, even catastrophic, impacts, it will not "destroy" our country. If an incident were to occur to knock out our electronic capability, our country would continue to survive, and recover quickly.

The authors appear not to be aware of the actions routinely taken to counter potential threats of nuclear or electromagnetic pulse (EMP) weapons. The Internet was designed to ensure our communications system would survive a Soviet nuclear attack, with hundreds of incidents. Our military equipment has been hardened to reduce the impact of EMP effects. It is better to be prepared than be surprised, and from a military perspective, appropriate measures have been taken.

The statement also underestimates the enormity of the challenge of destroying the United States. Anyone who has lost cell phone coverage in a parking garage or while driving through the mountains can tell you that EMP effects are not universal. And the American people are capable of surviving without electricity, as the recent power outages in the D.C. area demonstrated.

If a statement about the destruction of the United States were made simply by an EMP activist, it would be easily ignored. But the same statement made by a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee is dangerous. The surest way to bring on such an attack is to convince our enemy that a single blow would result in our destruction. If President Ahmadinejad were to put credibility into such a statement, it would only serve to embolden him and make an attempted attack much more likely.

The message, which should be sent to Iran clearly, is that any attack against our country will not result in our destruction, but will bring a swift and devastating response on our attacker. The same response would follow an attack on our allies. Iran's use of a nuclear weapon would result in the destruction of the Iranian nation. For that reason, the continued pursuit of a nuclear weapon should be abandoned, as it would bring no military advantage.

Bartlett should immediately retract that statement. It is scientifically incorrect. It does not accurately reflect the strength of our country. It is dangerous.

Andrew Duck
Brunswick, Md.

Editor's note: Andrew Duck is a Democratic candidate for the Maryland 6th District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives held by U.S. Rep. Roscoe Bartlett.

- The Herald-Mail- Aug 15, 2010

U.S. Rep. Roscoe Bartlett, R-Md., has voted and spoken against federal stimulus spending measures.

Yet, his chief of staff, Bud Otis, standing in for him, was among the dignitaries and speakers at the Aug. 7 celebration of the start of repairs to the Big Slackwater section of the C&O Canal National Historical Park. Stimulus money is covering about 75 percent of the $17.2 million project.

Andrew Duck, who attended the event and is one of two Democrats running for Bartlett’s seat, criticized Bartlett in a news release two days later.

“Congressman Bartlett’s office appears to have overcome their opposition just in time to take advantage of this event to garner a photo opportunity and deceive Maryland’s Sixth District voters into believing that he supported the funding for this sorely needed infrastructure improvement.”

Bartlett spokeswoman Lisa Wright said the congressman was invited because of his long-standing support for the C&O Canal.

She said Bartlett votes for spending based on whether it’s “in the best interest of the country.”

However, “once the spending is approved, he works very hard to get the highest possible share of spending for his district,” Wright said.

- Frederick News Post - Aug 13, 2010

Congressional candidate Andrew Duck is criticizing U.S. Rep. Roscoe Bartlett for taking political advantage of stimulus projects, even though he voted against the overarching bill that funded them.

"Congressman Bartlett's office appears to have overcome their opposition just in time to take advantage of this event to garner a photo opportunity and deceive Maryland's Sixth District voters into believing that he supported the funding for this sorely needed infrastructure improvement to the C&O Canal and Towpath, which are a Maryland landmark and a National Treasure." Duck said.

July 26, 2010

The latest campaign financial reporting data for the Sixth District U.S. House race reveals that Andrew Duck is outpacing his challenger, Casey Clark, by a factor of ten. According to Duck campaign Treasurer, Charles Bartley, "This surge in campaign donations demonstrate that Andrew's message on the issues is resonating with Democrats, Independents and moderate Republicans accross Maryland's Sixth District. Individuals, small businesses and organizations, who disagree and have been disappointed with how Roscoe Barlett has represented the District are looking to Andrew to bring a new voice to Congress".