U.S. Occupation of Germany and Iraq

Michael Ramirez’s Sunday editorial cartoon, which was both silly and insulting, indicates that he badly requires some history lessons. Franklin Roosevelt died while the Allied invasion of Europe was still ongoing; it was Harry Truman who had to deal with the task of a U.S. occupation. Another lesson is that of course the GIs occupying postwar Germany didn’t want to incur casualties or terrorism, but they didn’t need to withdraw to achieve that goal.

The American forces had both sufficient numbers and sufficient moral authority to rebuild postwar Germany without suffering a single combat death. Why conservatives continue to draw comparisons between occupied Germany and occupied Iraq, rather than learning from the contrasts, escapes me.

Seth Masket

Los Angeles

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Re the siege of Fallouja: Which military commander will be the first to say: “We had to destroy Fallouja to save it.”

Thomas D. Penfield

Cardiff by the Sea

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If every American who supports Bush’s war and plans to vote for him in November would enlist in the Army and request deployment to Iraq, or encourage his or her children to do so, then those of us who knew from the start that the war was immoral, illegal and a colossal waste of lives and money won’t have to worry.

Judy Pang

Palos Verdes Estates