Searching for the truth in stories on the war

Carefully reading John Pike’s article, “The truth about WP” (Opinion, Nov. 30), I concluded that we had indeed burned people to death with white phosphorus, but it was OK because: (1) those were not the people who the Italian press photographed; (2) we used shells, not the bombs prohibited by the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons; (3) we never agreed to that part of the convention anyway; and (4) the Russians did it in Chechnya. I also learned that we consider ourselves well-intentioned but, for whatever reason, much of the world does not.

ARTHUR KLIMECK

San Pedro

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Pike claims that the foreign press story about the U.S. using white phosphorus in Fallouja is untrue propaganda. He then admits that the U.S. did use white phosphorus in Fallouja, and lied about it. So what makes the story propaganda? Because the U.S. never ratified the international agreement banning the use of white phosphorus in civilian areas and is therefore not bound by it. Oh, well, if only we had told the world community that “we don’t recognize any rules of military ethics, that way we can’t break ‘em,” I’m sure they’d have a much higher opinion of us. The logic in this article is infantile.

ANDREW MATTHEWS

North Hollywood

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Re “U.S. Military Covertly Pays to Run Stories in Iraqi Press,” Nov. 30

President Bush says we’re in Iraq to spread democracy. Last time I looked, freedom of the press was a major feature of democracy. Paying newspapers to print lies and propaganda is tyranny, not democracy. Perhaps we should get our own house in order before we export our system to the rest of the world.

PAULA BERINSTEIN

Thousand Oaks

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So it appears that the U.S. has been paying Iraqi newspapers to print stories. Has this administration no shame? It has exaggerated, lied, misled and, now, payola. I thought it wanted to bring honor, integrity and ethics back to the White House.

CHRIS MOHR

Moorpark

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In our haste to bring democracy to Iraq, we mustn’t forget to educate Iraqis on a basic tenet in a democratic society: Don’t believe everything you read in the newspaper.

RICHARD M. RUBY

Woodland Hills