Iran-Contra

* I’m confused. Didn’t you make a mistake when you printed Edwin M. Yoder Jr.’s “Keep an Eye on the True Crime of Iran-Contra” in Column Right on Dec. 7? Shouldn’t it have been in Column Left?

Yes, I agree that Ronald Reagan and George Bush should have been impeached for the Iran-Contra affair--a far greater crime than the Watergate burglary. And Congress too was guilty of failing to do its duty in our time of need. But that’s all history. Now it’s time for the left and the right to work together for better government.

RALPH E. CRAMER

Los Angeles

* Some 30,000 dead, thousands more maimed, the elected government of a nation overthrown, a social, political and economic structure shattered, $17 billion in U.S. war reparations canceled; these are the “true crimes of Iran-Contra.” In a society with any moral integrity, Reagan would have been impeached. But don’t forget that his “constitutional misdeeds” translated into children with their throats cut in Nicaragua, courtesy of the U.S.-created and trained Contras.

PAUL BAKER

Pasadena

* Yoder neglects to mention the element of guns for drugs. Let us not forget the 543 entries in Oliver North’s diary related to using profits from the sale of cocaine to buy guns for the Contras. During the “October Surprise” hearings, out of frustration with the process, Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) blurted out: “Guns for drugs . . . it’s a matter of record.”

CHARLENE A. RICHARDS

Canoga Park