U.S. Troops Dying in Iraq Deserve More Attention

Ho-hum ... 12 more U.S. troops died. So what else is new? The Times’ April 19 front page carried six articles, all with bold headlines. Under a news analysis, “Carnage Dims Hopes for Political Way in Iraq,” is a two-line item that reads, “Related Story: Iraq: Twelve U.S. troops died Saturday, military says. A5.”

However, there is no headline on Page A5 about the tragic story of these 12 deaths. If one decides to read “Iraqis to Prosecute Case of Contractors’ Killers,” and one continues to read through the seventh paragraph, then, and only then, can one read about the soldiers and Marines who died. Shame!

Harry A. Roth

Los Angeles

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April has been by far the deadliest month in Iraq since the war started, with 100 U.S. soldiers killed, and counting. There were many reports of kidnapped foreigners. No one is safe in Iraq.

My cousin, Damon Gittens, is currently fighting in Iraq to keep peace. His safety is the only thing on my mind. President Bush has many plans to help Iraq. Let’s just hope Bush can work things out.

Peter Na

Los Angeles

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It is hard to believe our president received a Harvard MBA without learning the maxim, “Failing to plan is planning to fail.”

Angus Andrews

Westlake Village

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Re “Plan for Cease-Fire Reached in Fallouja,” April 20:

Where are the B-52s when we need them? Instead of negotiating with a bunch of criminals and having our Marines shot and killed in back alleys, blown up by roadside bombs and other unimaginable killing devices, we should let the B-52s solve this city’s problem once and for all. Whoever lives there is not our friend; so what are we waiting for? To have more Marines killed? Should the B-52s not be available, perhaps we can reactivate the 1,000 Lancaster bombers that leveled cities such as Cologne, Hamburg and Dresden.

My point is, why are we getting ourselves trapped into this house-to-house combat, the very type of warfare we have been trying to avoid?

Kurt Beier

Hacienda Heights

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When the number of our troops killed in Iraq equals the number of those killed on 9/11, will Bush admit that the Iraqi people weren’t all that eager to be “liberated” by the U.S.? And do we have to wait until the number of Iraqi civilians killed following our invasion of their country equals those murdered by Saddam Hussein before we impeach Bush for lying to us about WMD and leading us into an unjust war?

Charlotte Lobb

Torrance

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I have heard talk of reviving the draft. If anybody in Washington thinks we are going to allow that bunch of bungling incompetents in this administration to put any more of our young people in harm’s way, he is sadly mistaken!

W.L. Sibley

Northridge