I am writing in regard to Bravo, Marie dated August 2 writen by former US ambassador to Malaysia. If one were to take him at face value, we would be led to the unlikely conclusion that US foreign policy is shaped by the most high-minded of principles.

I'm not naive. This is clearly the job of an American diplomat - he, and now she, is after all his/her government's chief propagandist abroad.

In this regard Malott and Marie Huhtala will continue to posture as true champions for democratic change, hiding the true record the US government's involvement in this region, in particular.

Remember that dictators like Marcos, Suharto and Lon Nol were all friends of the US. Remember the vicious war that America fought against the Vietnamese. And how consistent they are: Even now the current Bush administration is attempting to suppress knowledge of US involvement in the mass murders of Indonesians in the 1960s. What about the mass murders in East Timor when it was first invaded - remember US president Ford visited Suharto just days before. Then, Suharto was America's man.

Malott and Marie should thank Mahathir for our narrow education and restrained media system for keeping this record largely under wraps. This administration's pro-US stance is clear for all who see beyond the rhetoric.

I'd like to recommend a book by a sterling US citizen, one of the most rigorous critics and high-minded of American public intellectuals, on the record of the US government.

Noam Chomsky is one of the rigorous critics of US foreign policy and has been one of the most consistent supporters of democracy and justice in Southeast Asia.

His book, The Umbrella of US Power - The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the contradictions of US Policy should pull the propaganda rug from under Malott's feet.

The book is published by The Open Media Pamphlet Series (New York, 1999)

Frankly, I'd prefer Noam as a friend. And, goodness knows, we need all the true friends we can get in the fight for democracy.