War-Related Review Shrouded in Politics

Re “Congress Plans a Covert Review of Iraq Prewar Intelligence,” June 12: Why isn’t it front-page news that congressional Republicans want to hold secret meetings to “investigate” the lies President Bush and his administration told about weapons of mass destruction to get us to invade Iraq? Why is The Times burying this outrage on Page 20? After all, this is the same GOP that relentlessly pursued the Clintons for years, derailing our government and costing U.S. taxpayers more than $40 million to uncover precisely one tawdry extramarital affair.

Thousands of people were killed in Bush’s folly and now the United States is stuck in a quagmire in Iraq. U.S. citizens have the right to know the duplicitous dealings of our government that have led to this national and international disaster. L.A. Times, your partisanship is showing.

Linda K. Heisen

Los Angeles

*

The bipartisan congressional resolution authorized use of force against Iraq if Bush first made a finding that Iraq constituted a threat to us. Bush repeatedly represented that Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction posed such a threat and launched a preemptive invasion. Now we find there were no weapons of mass destruction, thus no threat. Moreover, there is strong evidence that Bush knew (or should have known) this if he exercised any diligence when he ordered the attack. Thus far at least 180 Americans have been killed (with more each week), and more than 3,000 Iraqi civilians have been killed -- at a cost of more than $63 billion (plus additional millions every day).

That the chairmen of the two committees authorized to hold hearings in this matter, Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) and Sen. John W. Warner (R-Va.), both state they have not seen any proof of wrongdoing and intend to hold only closed-door hearings compounds the growing scandal with a cover-up that is far greater than Watergate. Are these senators patriots or shills for their party?

George Magit

Northridge