Iraqi Deaths and Missing Explosives

Re “Conflict May Have Killed 100,000 Iraqis, Report Says,” Oct. 29: Half the civilians dead have been women and children. Almost all the civilians have died as a consequence of airstrikes, not by shootings at ground level. An Iraqi has an increased chance of dying a violent death at least by 57 times when compared with before the war. And we wonder why the Iraqi people want us out.

Sam French

Rancho Palos Verdes

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Knowing now in hindsight that there were no weapons of mass destruction and no immediate threat to the U.S., was killing 100,000 Iraqis legal and worth it to dump Saddam Hussein versus continuing sanctions? I knew the moment President Bush decided not to join the World Court that we were going into Iraq. I always thought it was to protect troops who might in the heat of battle do questionable things. I never thought it was to prevent himself from being charged. If the number is true, then George Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Tony Blair and everyone else associated with the decision to go to war should be brought up on charges of war crimes and genocide. This makes the U.S. no different than Serbia, China, Cuba, Serbia, Sudan and every other country that has slaughtered civilians.

Howie Goldfarb

Redondo Beach

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So the October surprise is that France and Germany not only did have backroom deals with Saddam Hussein but Russia did as well. Weapons moved before the invasion? It is entirely likely that Bush was right about weapons of mass destruction. Probably lost on the anti-Bush crowd is the idea that the conduct of France, Germany and Russia demonstrates the fallacy of John Kerry’s unfettered reliance on diplomacy at all costs, i.e., those countries would not have supported any invasion because of their own political purposes, regardless of Iraq’s devious intentions and ongoing support of worldwide terrorism.

Paul Carter

Long Beach

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The high explosives were there when the United Nations had them under video surveillance and under lock and key. Bush removed the U.N. inspectors and the explosives disappeared. It doesn’t matter if they disappeared before or after our troops got there. It was after Bush removed the guards. Now our job is to remove Bush before he makes more mistakes.

Gilbert Grodsky

Burbank

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Re “News Video Is at Center of Storm Over Iraq Explosives,” Oct. 29: It seems to me this latest stink might have been avoided if someone had just floated the notion in Vice President Dick Cheney’s ear before the war that there was proportionately as much oil under Al Qaqaa as there was HMX (explosives) inside. The place would have been locked down so tight a rat in Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s pocket couldn’t have gotten in.

Earl W. Wallace

Ventura

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Kerry has stated that there was no link between Iraq and terrorists. Now he states terrorists moved 380 tons of high explosives during the first month of the U.S. and coalition occupation. Did the terrorists have off-road vehicles capable of moving such a large amount of material in a short period? Or did U.S. tanks and military vehicles move off the roads to make room for terrorists’ dump trucks and 18-wheelers? Kerry’s assertions are preposterous.

David Eggleston

Newport Beach

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Re “For Bush, Too Late for Honesty,” Oct. 29: Writer Jonathan Chait’s seven examples of the Bush administration trying to defend itself regarding the lost explosives in Iraq really lays bare the dishonesty and deception that has been a hallmark of this government. I’m astounded over and over at how the Bush administration can repeatedly deny facts that are as plain as day. At high noon on a cloudless day, this administration will argue that it’s well after midnight, and do so with a straight face. What we are seeing here on a regular basis is a total eclipse of the truth.

Susan J. Kovach

Boynton Beach, Fla.

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President Bush made this statement during one of his campaign speeches: “A political candidate who jumps to conclusions without knowing the facts is not a person you want as your commander in chief.” Oh? Now you tell us!

Marion L. Brundage

Chula Vista, Calif.