Letters: Dec. 26, 2005

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I was sorry you didn't write about intestinal ailments. Was there really nothing new to report about ulcers, Crohn's disease, irritable-bowel syndrome or ulcerative colitis? The stomach and its environs are vitally important, but I guess our plumbing has never made for particularly sexy reading. PHIL GIACALONE St. Petersburg, Fla.

Exit Strategy

RE The implications of withdrawing U.S. military forces from Iraq [Dec. 5]: American troops need to stay in Iraq until that country can take care of itself. U.S. foreign policy helped shape today's Middle East. If we don't take responsibility for our past actions and remain to clean up the mess we have made, we'll have to go back into Iraq to hunt down the next wave of terrorists. God grant that we lose no more soldiers. But let's not leave before the job is done. MICHAEL MARTINEZ Houston

The average American is simply sick of the U.S.'s spending our money and our young people's lives for political ideals. What would Americans do if Saddam Hussein or any other world leader believed that Bush was evil and decided to trump up charges to end his term? I'm a Vietnam veteran, and if that happened, I would start making some car bombs. What right do we have to police the world? Iraq is an Arab problem and should be solved by the Arab world. CHARLES DELLING Waterford, Mich.

No matter what happens in Iraq, it won't end the war on terrorism. We must stay the course in the 21st century, or there will be no 22nd. There is only one way to shorten this war: we must win. We must start thinking about universal service for our young folks. Citizenship simply requires that during wartime, one class of people not be allowed to pile up wealth and power while another makes the ultimate sacrifice of their lives. SGT. MILTON Y. KEITH, U.S.M.C. St. Petersburg, Fla.

It makes no difference when the U.S. leaves Iraq. The genie has been let out of the bottle. The Bush Administration has ensured a supply of terrorists for the next 25 years, extinguished any chance for a secular Iraqi state, potentially destabilized the Middle East and presented the cost in lives, personal freedom and dollars to our grandchildren. MICHAEL L. SCHNEIDER New Haven, Conn.

Border Politics

Thank you for the informative articles on U.S. immigration policy [Dec. 5]. Although I believe the government needs to reform the system, I disagree with the tactics of the Minutemen [the vigilantes who patrol the borders and demonstrate against immigrants at day-labor centers]. Perhaps the Minutemen could better channel their energies by finding U.S. citizens willing to perform the jobs that illegal immigrants are doing and assisting those Americans in getting such jobs. JAMES GATES Lake Worth, Fla.

The idea that there are jobs Americans don't want to do is touted as a reason for allowing illegal immigrants into the U.S. There are no jobs Americans won't do--but there are jobs they won't do for Third World wages--and why should they? Anytime farmers or businessmen say they cannot get Americans to work for them, just ask if they are paying $40,000 a year. President Bush is going to let in as many illegals as he can for two reasons: the people who compete with illegals for jobs and wages don't vote Republican, and Bush's friends in business love cheap labor. JOHN MUSTOE Savannah, Ga.