Let’s Have a Happy Ending to Iraq Occupation -- Soon

Re “Missile Downs U.S. Copter in Iraq, Killing 16 Soldiers,” Nov. 3: Sixteen more and counting ... and what do we hear from the Bush administration? Stay the course; another bump in the road; it’s a long, hard war; we’re going to have tragic days. That’s very comforting to the fathers, mothers and wives, not to mention all the children. The president goes on raising money for his reelection and his staff mainly remains silent about all the dead men and women resulting from his adventure in Iraq.

Enough is enough. How many more have to die before President Bush admits his mistake? We cannot rescue all the downtrodden people in the world at unbelievably high costs in blood and treasure. We must get rid of this callous administration and get back to our own needs.

Albert Cohen

Sherman Oaks

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Re “What About Winning a Few U.S. Hearts and Minds?” Commentary, Nov. 2: Frank del Olmo attempts to rationalize Rep. Silvestre Reyes’ (D-Texas) vote to approve the $87-billion installment payment for Iraq, stating, “What else could a patriotic Tejano do, with U.S. soldiers still facing danger?” What else, indeed! The ill-defined rationale for continued U.S. occupation of that country, a supposed desire to create a democratic Iraq, is as false as the purported justifications (weapons of mass destruction and links to 9/11) advanced for going to war in the first instance.

The blueprint for the occupation of Iraq was laid out by the neoconservatives long before 9/11 in the “Project for the New American Century.” This delusional vision would extend U.S. power and control over the whole of the oil-rich Middle East, making Iraq little more than a colonial base of power and wealth, all secured by the blood and money of the American middle and lower classes, as the wealthiest among us, especially those associated with the Bush administration’s rise to power -- the Carlyle Group, Bechtel, Halliburton, the oil industry and the military-industrial complex -- rake in the dough.

What else is a Tejano to do? Try saying “no” to the $87 billion; “no” to continued occupation. Try advancing a bill that would truly support our troops by insisting that they be brought home, now!

Ernest A. Canning

Thousand Oaks

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“A Match Made in Limbo” (Oct. 31), regarding Sgt. Sean Blackwell and Cpl. Brett Dagen and their brides, is a great story that I hope will have a happy ending. The brides and the grooms are the most courageous couples that this war has seen. They know what is in store for them. Let these people find happiness where misery has been for a long time. Maybe if more American soldiers marry more Iraqi women, this war will end sooner.

Said El Saadi

Rancho Palos Verdes