Saddam Hussein

Sandra Mackey’s column about why there is no alternative but to let Saddam Hussein remain in power (Commentary, Aug. 25) is about the most shortsighted view I can imagine. If we agree that Saddam is a tyrant and that he is evil, then the choice is obvious; get him outta there. Might we indulge our imaginations to believe with hope that Iraq might be better off, no matter how cloudy the future looks now.

It was with great irony that the same issue of The Times included an in-depth World Report about the changing faces of nations and the probability that many countries may well reconfigure themselves within the next 50 years. Who’s to say that it might not happen in Iraq?

All of this serves to underscore the apparent ineptitude of George Bush’s foreign policy. We need leaders who understand the trends in the world and who are capable of dealing with them effectively. Enough of this reactionary buried-in-the-past mentality.

LENARD DAVIS, Newport Beach