Role of the United States in an Out-of-Control Iraq

Re “U.S. Defends Its Role in Iraq,” July 1: It’s amazing to feel this rush of tragic ‘60s nostalgia. The war was justified by a bogus “Gulf of Texaco” resolution about nonexistent weapons of mass destruction. We hear of U.S. counterinsurgency in Iraq, complete with search and destroy missions. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld denies that it’s a “quagmire” while calling those who resist the occupation “terrorists.” When is the Pentagon going to start reporting Iraqi/U.S. kill ratios?

Jim Devine

Culver City

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Regarding U.S. civilian administrator of Iraq L. Paul Bremer III’s comments in “Administrator Seeks a ‘Better Life’ for Iraqis” (June 30): So, who else is tired of hearing the problems in Iraq boiled down to “bad guys” who “don’t want the coalition to succeed in making people’s lives better”?

Isn’t it really “dumb guys” who weren’t paying any attention at all in eighth-grade social studies?

Jon K. Williams

Santa Barbara

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Re “U.S. Finds War in Iraq Is Far From Finished,” June 29: In response to the perceived success of the opposition in Iraq, you quote a senior military official in Washington as saying: “You have to go in and tell them: ‘We’re gonna do what we did in Germany and Japan. We’re gonna write your constitution. We’re gonna install your government. We’re gonna write your laws. We’re gonna watch your every move for a decade, and then maybe you’ll get a chance to do it yourself.’ ”

Doesn’t this say reams about this administration’s policies? The moral and cultural haughtiness of this country is disgusting.

Ralph Mitchell

Monterey Park

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“Send Out an SOS on Iraq” (editorial, June 27) should touch a nerve in those who were so gung-ho to show our military might there. Amnesty International USA has been there and was telling us of Saddam Hussein’s abuses decades before our current administration took office. Its June 6 report indicates that in many respects the Iraqi population is vastly worse off now than before we exerted our military might. It includes: “It is the duty of an occupying power under international law to protect civilians and maintain order. These are clearly responsibilities for which the U.S. had not made adequate plans.”

The most touching part of the report is “ ... the United States, the nation that in so many ways gave birth to the very concept of universal human rights, now seems hellbent to abandon this precious creation.” Whether this assessment is over- or under-blown is less important than to realize that it’s how most of the rest of the world sees us. Do we care? Or are we just supposed not to give a damn?

Willard Hanzlik

Seal Beach