Letters

Mis

"Whether or not the Iraq war was right, it's the troops on the ground who are bearing the brunt of a failed strategy. We need to get them out."
HERBERT M. DICKER
Port Washington, N.Y.

LATEST COVER STORY Mind & Body Happiness Jan. 17, 2004 Past Issues Tsunami Jan. 10, 2004 ----------------- Person of the Year Jan. 3, 2004 ----------------- Secrets of the Nativity Dec. 13, 2004 ----------------- The Stealth Killer Dec. 6, 2004 ----------------- Coolest Inventions Nov. 29, 2004 ----------------- Battle for Fallujah Nov. 22, 2004 ----------------- Four More Years Nov. 15, 2004 ----------------- The Joy Of Sox Nov. 8, 2004 ----------------- The Morning After Nov. 1, 2004 ----------------- The God Gene Oct. 25, 2004 ----------------- The Vote Battle Oct. 18, 2004 ----------------- Visions of Tomorrow Oct. 11, 2004 ----------------- The Tragedy of Sudan Oct. 4, 2004 ----------------- CBS Controversy Sept. 27, 2004 ----------------- America's Border Sept. 20, 2004 ----------------- Struggle Within Islam Sept. 13, 2004 ----------------- World of George Bush Sept. 6, 2004 -----------------   SPECIAL REPORTS  Coolest Video Games 2004  Coolest Inventions  Wireless Society  Cool Tech 2004 PHOTOS AND GRAPHICS  At The Epicenter  Paths to Pleasure  Quotes of the Week  This Week's Gadget  Cartoons of the Week More graphics >> More photos >> MORE STORIES Advisor: Rove Warrior The Bushes: Family Dynasty Klein: Benneton Ad Presidency More Stories >> CNN.com: Latest News

Your asking what went wrong in Iraq does irreparable harm to the morale of America's troops and their families [COVER STORIES, Oct. 6]. Ridding the world of Saddam Hussein's regime was a lofty achievement, and if we accomplish nothing else politically in Iraq, we have done the people of that country and the world a great service. How about focusing on the good that has come of U.S. efforts there? With Saddam in power, there was surely no hope.
JACKI COOK
Red Boiling Springs, Tenn.

Since President Bush announced in May that "major combat operations" in Iraq were over, the U.S. has lost scores of troops there, reconstruction of war-torn Iraq has stalled, no weapons of mass destruction (WMD) have been found, and we can't get substantial support from our allies. What a turnabout it would be if the Democrats used pictures of Bush landing on the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln when they campaign to regain the White House.
STUART FISHER
Abington, Pa.

Have we Americans forgotten our own history? We did not become a perfected democracy overnight. Although we declared our independence in 1776 and most think of that as the birth date of our nation, George Washington was not elected President until the U.S. Constitution went into effect in 1789. That was 13 years later. Many in our country and around the world seem unwilling to wait 13 months in Iraq's case, let alone 13 years for a constitution and a President. Let's give the process a little more time before judging the effectiveness of the Bush Administration.
GREGORY J. CHILCOTE
Orem, Utah

Where I come from, if an employee embarked on a major initiative without planning for the long run, misrepresented important facts and made ruinous miscalculations, that employee would be fired, along with his management team.
MARIANNE GABEL
Delaware, Ohio

If the media and the democrats continue to try to convince the American public that the Iraq war is a failure, it will become one. What critic of the war has come up with a plan that would have led to victory in Iraq, completely rebuilt Iraq's infrastructure and created the foundation for an Iraqi democracy with the death of fewer than 400 American soldiers in seven months? On the whole, the Bush Administration has done an excellent job. Just ask the Iraqi citizens.
JAMES MURDOCK
Denton, Texas

In "So, What Went Wrong?" Michael Elliott asserted, "If the assumption that Saddam had deadly weapons looks, at least for now, to have been mistaken, it was to an extent understandable." But letting Bush off the hook in this manner is equivalent to saying it is O.K. for a district attorney to tamper with evidence because he truly believes the accused is guilty. Cherry picking only the most supportive intelligence reports, ignoring others and making a case that is much stronger than the evidence warrants in an effort to convince the public that war is necessary are wrong. It doesn't matter whether or not you truly believed there were WMD in Iraq.
TED LANDAU
Rochester Hills, Mich.

It has been only a few months since the fall of Saddam's regime, yet we frequently hear what a "fiasco" Iraq is. While the job in Iraq is hard, the occupation will not be over next week or even next year. I cannot believe we Americans are so addicted to instant gratification that we cannot stick to something for more than a few months.
MARK JASS
Trumbull, Conn.

The American public isn't going to stand for another war of choice. The remaining members of the "axis of evil," Iran and North Korea, are already thumbing their nose at the U.S. over nuclear development, and lesser thugs, like the Syrians, are breathing a lot easier. The Administration's miscalculation in Iraq has truly ugly implications.
JACK STREET
Vineyard Haven, Mass.

If the U.S. hadn't taken out Saddam, sooner or later he would have done everything possible to destroy us. If we had waited, the cost in money and lives would have been far greater.
JOE KOSTRUB
Pittsburgh, Pa.

Richard Nixon was forced to resign after he lied about Watergate. Now it appears that Bush misled us about the reasons for attacking Iraq. Impeachment proceedings should have begun. Why must U.S. troops remain as an occupying force in Iraq? Is this another Vietnam?
FRED BUSHNELL
Pfalzgrafenweiler, Germany

--Some readers reacted angrily to the cover headline "Mission Not Accomplished" and the photo of President Bush wearing a flight suit on the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln last May. "How dare you put our President on your cover with such a despicable headline?" wrote a Connecticut man. But not all readers saw red. A Washington State resident wryly approved of "the cute picture of the guy in the fighter-pilot costume. Too bad you didn't save it for Halloween — that's when most of us play dress-up." Quipped a woman from New Hampshire: "Despite your negative headline, I could still see what a hottie our President is."