I don’t understand Jim Walker’s point (letter, Dec. 19).

Aside from making several opinionated assertions about President Jimmy Carter, claiming to have second-hand knowledge of what some of the Americans experienced, belittling the intelligence of folks who disagree with his interpretations, Walker gave no facts to contradict the statements I made about the actual historical events in Iran.

He asked where I got my information. Well…from the CIA, actually. Its Clandestine Historical Paper No. 208 – written in 1954 and once a secret document – gives the whole story of the successful plot to overthrow the democratic government of Mossadegh and reinstall the Shah. It was exposed by James Riesen in the New York Times on April 16, 2000. It and the Algiers Accords of January 19, 1981, can easily be found on the Web.

The historical facts which explain the Iranian students’ hostility, and the Carter adminstration’s efforts to resolve the crisis are indisputable. In his ad, Rudolph Giuliani deliberately omits most of them. Whether or not people wish to correct their ignorance of history is up to them, but it is important that all Americans have access to the facts in order to draw their own conclusions.

Bruce Mitchell, Wilton