Letters: Sep. 5, 2005

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As a recent Iraq-war veteran and soon-to-be-deployed-again soldier, I was appalled that you interviewed former soldier Jessica Lynch [Aug. 15], who was rescued after being held by Iraqis in 2003. Lynch said she has been used as a symbol. But if anyone is using anything, it is Lynch who is using the uniform and the memories of the dead and injured men and women of our military to further her life and career. Lynch has been given everything on a silver platter. Why not do a story on the real heroes who fired back when they were attacked, did their jobs and came home to nothing? What about the families who have seen their loved ones depart for a second tour of Iraq or Afghanistan in less than two years? That would be a best seller--the story of the sacrifices of the families of fallen and injured soldiers.

PAUL D. WELLER

Fort Lewis, Wash.

As the War Grinds On

The subhead of your report on the "ever more brutal" Iraq war stated, "Here's why American soldiers keep dying" [Aug. 15]. U.S. troops are dying for the same reason that so many were killed in Vietnam: they are where they have no reason to be. After the U.S. left Vietnam to the North Vietnamese, what happened? Is Vietnam in dire straits today without America to back it? No, it's expanding economically. Leave Iraq to the Iraqis, and get out.

ARUNACHALAM ASHOKAN

Quilon, India

As a former French paratrooper and commando during the Algerian war, I was surprised by the way U.S. forces respond to attacks by Iraqi insurgents and tactical errors U.S. soldiers are making. The lone soldier on patrol in the photo captioned "Carrying On" should have been taught that when patrolling in a hostile environment, you hold your gun with both arms at the ready, since seconds count. And you don't look at the ground; you keep your eyes level and pivot right and left to search for movement. I fear that the allied forces are not really prepared for this type of war.

JEAN-PIERRE GUMPRICH

Retournac, France

Condi Under Pressure

"The Condi Doctrine" compared U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice with George Marshall, the U.S. Secretary of State responsible for the Marshall Plan, which helped rebuild Europe in the aftermath of World War II [Aug. 15]. To compare Rice with Marshall is like comparing a bad apple with a good one. The Marshall Plan helped restore Europe after a devastating war by relieving, as Marshall put it, "hunger, poverty, desperation and chaos." The Condi (and Bush) doctrine attempts to restore Iraq by forcing democracy down Iraqis' throats, using coercion and military occupation. Notwithstanding Rice's and the Administration's claim that the insurgency is coming under control, the body count keeps rising daily, with no end in sight for the quagmire in Iraq.

RALPH KRESS

La Mesa, Calif.

Rice seems to disregard the terrible, increasing death toll in Iraq and believe that the U.S. is actually winning. That kind of thinking reminds me of the surgeon who announces, "The operation was a success, but the patient died." I suppose Rice will declare total victory when Iraq has become the world's largest graveyard.

RONALD RUBIN

Topanga, Calif.

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