Finding Those Weapons of Mass Deception in Iraq

“Voices in the Wilderness Are Turning Into a Chorus,” the headline of Daniel Benjamin’s March 30 commentary, says it all. The chorus of former Bush administration insiders, all of them staunch Republicans, speaking out against the policies and even the process of the current administration, is too much for President Bush and White House political advisor Karl Rove to silence.

The voices of former counterterrorism chief Richard Clarke, former Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neil, Gen. Don Kerrick (a three-star general) and Gen. Henry Shelton (chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff until Oct. 1, 2001) are being heard. And with each new voice, the harmony and dissonance of the many makes for exciting and powerful music. The courage of the soloists is admired, especially given the lame efforts to discredit them. The audience is riveted.

Jane Affonso

Manhattan Beach

*

Re “Keep Iraq Above Politics,” Commentary, March 30: A word of comfort to James Schlesinger and Thomas Pickering: Rest easy. The exit strategy is ... ta da! ... there is no exit. This war, which has miraculously morphed into a humanitarian mission to bring democracy to Iraq, offers what the Pentagon has long wanted, military bases in Iraq to add to its more than 800 bases around the world. Imperial America, anyone?

Murray Lamishaw

Laguna Woods

*

After vigorously arguing that national security advisor Condoleezza Rice could not and would not testify in public and under oath before the 9/11 panel, the White House now says that she will so testify (March 31). Sounds like a major flip-flop to me. And please, let’s not get into a debate over the “no precedent” proviso. After all, that would be a nuance, and as George W. Bush himself has said, he doesn’t do nuance.

Bruce C. Friedman

Los Angeles

*

So President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney will appear before the 9/11 commission as conjoined twins, and there will be no recordings or transcripts allowed, and only one note-taker will be permitted during the proceedings! May I facetiously suggest Laura Bush for the role of sole note-taker?

Laurel Hall

La Habra

*

Re “Colin Powell, Forever the ‘Good Soldier,’ ” Commentary, March 28: Perhaps the most tragic figure of the current White House is Secretary of State Colin L. Powell. To have supported the mendacious policies of President Bush and company in respect to our imperial invasion of Iraq might be “good soldiering,” but it is morally bankrupt for a public servant. One wonders if this former military man feels any pangs of conscience over the deaths of nearly 600 American troops in the Iraq debacle.

Bob Teigan

Simi Valley

*

Jim Mann finds the words “loyalty” and “service” truly enigmatic. He sees Powell as “marginalized,” a ludicrous adjective to describe an active secretary of State in a proactive administration. Perhaps he can recall a more powerful similar Cabinet member in any Democratic administration. If, in fact, Powell’s core beliefs had been misidentified previously, it’s due primarily to partisans like Mann, and he’s still pouting. Can the term “good soldier” be only a metaphor for a more demeaning two-word epithet?

Stuart Weiss

Beverly Hills