U.S. Democracy Degenerating in Iraq

One would hope that the civilized world would be far removed from the Wild West. The recent pictures taken at the Abu Ghraib prison tell a different story -- a godless and disheartening tale. The entrusted leaders of our nation have once more failed in their pursuit of “democracy,” a term often used but hardly practiced. Violence begets violence, and we are paying the price. Should we wait any longer in Iraq for welcoming roses?

Zorik Mooradian

Glendale

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Several U.S. officials are urging the Bush administration to dismantle the Abu Ghraib prison west of Baghdad. Unfortunately, the problem does not reside in the steel and concrete of the prison but in the lies, deceptions and incompetence of this administration. If we are going to employ a wrecking ball in order to fix the mess in Iraq, let’s begin by dismantling the real problem: the U.S. occupation of Iraq and the oxymoronic Pax Americana of the neoconservatives.

Neal Kelsey

Hesperia

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I believe the purpose of Nicholas Berg’s beheading is being missed. It was neither an act of retribution nor a tactical error that drew attention from the prison abuses. It was done to renew American resolve to stay in Iraq, for that serves the goal of isolating the U.S. and alienating it from the Muslim world. The extremists and terrorists must regard the war as proof that God is on their side, for what could they have done on their own that would be more damaging to the U.S.?

Darrel Miller

Santa Monica

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Please understand the destructive notion of moral equivalence that underlies the prevailing, corrosive political correctness destroying our educational system and our country’s ideals. Understand that we are in a death struggle with Islamic fundamentalism.

Support our troops and our current leadership. Save the political correctness and liberal bias and media sensationalism (e.g., the prison issue) for the dumpster, where it belongs.

Robert Schmidt

Westminster

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It is probably good that the pictures of the happenings at the Abu Ghraib prison surfaced. But tell me, why were pictures being taken anyway?

Ed Schlossman

Thousand Oaks

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I am frankly stunned by the letters and commentaries The Times has published excusing and even justifying the atrocities our soldiers committed in Iraq. The overarching theme seems to be: We are fighting an immoral enemy; therefore, it is permissible for our soldiers to behave immorally. Have our standards really sunk so low, so fast? What happened to “America, beacon of fairness and justice”? We need to retrace our steps. Perhaps we can find the moral compass we lost on the road to war.

Dana Parks

Culver City

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I can’t help but wonder: What if the tables were turned? What if our country were invaded by foreigners? What if they locked us up? What if they abused us? How would we react? What would we do for retribution? What would we demand as restitution?

Wendy D. Henderson

Chatsworth

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“Atrocity Knows No Gender” (Commentary, May 11) prompts me to pose the rhetorical question with regard to the guards in Iraqi prisons: If an officer had ordered these people to inflict similar “inhumane” treatment on their favorite pet or family member, would any have objected or questioned it?

Surely, if they were to comply, it would be with the greatest sadness and much reluctance. Yet these human beings willingly and, apparently, even gleefully participated in inhumane and unlawful acts upon their brothers and sisters in the human family.

Yes, war is brutalizing, but these poignant and egregious behaviors, when seen from afar (Washington, D.C.), become praiseworthy by the president, who tells the secretary of Defense that he is doing a “superb job.” Does anyone remember Pogo’s prescient statement about meeting the enemy? Yes, the answer is “us,” from the top down to all who voted for these madmen and supported this war.

Margil W. Wadley

Laguna Woods

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So now Pfc. Lynndie R. England says she was only following orders (May 14). Therefore we can assume that the Army placement people did a good job in selecting England for this duty, since the pictures clearly indicate she was enjoying the job.

Stan Bass

Montrose

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It’s all so depressingly familiar: The American military, besmirched again; the Congress, craven as usual; the president, arrogant as always; the public, docile in the face of it all.

Ted Labrenz

Morro Bay, Calif.