Abu Ghraib: Bush Needs to Review His Speeches

Re “U.S. Ends Bid to Exempt Troops From Global Court,” June 24: I find it quite interesting that the Bush administration wanted to have our troops immune from war crimes prosecution while at the same time the defense attorneys for the soldiers accused of prisoner abuse are claiming that their clients were “following orders.”

Shouldn’t we hold our own troops up to at least the same standards we expected of the Iraqi troops? Bush should reread his own March 17, 2003, speech, made just prior to the war, when he said: “War crimes will be prosecuted. War criminals will be punished. And it will be no defense to say, ‘I was just following orders.’ ”

Paul Burns

Granada Hills

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Re “Files Show Bush Team Torn Over POW Rules,” June 23:

The U.S. guards at Abu Ghraib should be polled as to whether they received instructions regarding the Geneva Convention. They should also be asked if they were aware of the president’s incompletely released February 2002 directive for handling people detained in the fight against terrorism.

Mike Millan

Carpinteria