Bush Must Acknowledge the Will of the People

“Senate Sets Debate on War Plans” (Oct. 2) concludes with the statement that “many lawmakers say they are hearing mostly from constituents opposed to going to war,” and that one senator said, “My phone calls are 200 to 2 against doing anything.” While some public opinion polls seem to indicate a majority in favor of attacking Iraq, others indicate opposition.

However, it is clear that an overwhelming majority of people who care enough to either call or write to their representatives in Washington are opposed to unilaterally starting a war with Iraq. The Senate should take this large public opposition into account when deciding whether to reverse the long-standing U.S. policy not to start a war. At least I hope that the Senate puts some strings on the hands of President Bush, as he certainly has no hesitation to ignore the will of the people.

Felix E. Schweizer

Los Angeles

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“Unlike in ‘90, Fear of U.S. Defines U.N. Iraq Debate” (Oct. 1) reminds us that “the United States has declined to join an international criminal court and a global ban on land mines and to sign the Kyoto Protocol to reverse the deterioration of the world’s environment.” It reminds us also of the “uncompromising rhetoric about acting unilaterally to oust Hussein.” We evidently now have even allies who are fearful of our governmental behavior. Evidently, the way to increase homeland security is to maximize the number of our enemies in the world while ignoring the destruction of the planet’s environment.

It seems that we have a loose cannon on deck and, unfortunately, there’s nothing in the Constitution about what to do about loose cannons. The dilemma is that Congress can’t impeach a president because he’s endangering our nation and the rest of the planet. He has to do something really serious--like former President Clinton did.

David Perlman

Laguna Beach

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Ironic, isn’t it? If our forces take out Saddam Hussein, we will never know the horrors that awaited us at his hand. However, it may be that the only evidence the left will accept to prove that Hussein is a threat will be to see one of our cities in flames and our population suffering the ravages of radiation sickness, poisonous gas or a major epidemic. Even then, the left will blame the U.S. for the attack on itself. Those who prefer to wait until we are attacked will find a way to blame Bush and his administration for not doing “something” to prevent the attack, when it was precisely their own efforts that may have prevented the president from acting against Hussein in time.

Laurella A. Cross

Irvine

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I was disgusted by White House spokesman Ari Fleischer’s coarse remarks calling for someone to put a bullet in Hussein’s head (Oct. 2). This is not how a great nation seeks to order world affairs. This is how a cheap punk tries to get his way through threats and intimidation. Do we really want a foreign policy that requires our officials to talk and act like gangsters?

Peter Lee

Los Angeles