Did the Iraq vote count for anything?

Re “Approval of Iraq Charter Seems Likely,” Oct. 18

Why, it’s an electoral miracle -- just like us, the people of Iraq were smart enough to choose what is best for corporations in Texas. Any use of the words “freedom” or “democracy” by any member of the Bush administration amounts to Orwellian doublespeak.

LEE HARRIS

Burbank

*

Re “Sunnis Join Millions for Iraq

Charter Vote,” Oct. 16

The Sunnis in Iraq were trapped during the constitutional vote. A boycott of the vote would have ensured the passage of a constitution they reject, while participation, regardless of the result, legitimized a process inherently null and void as long as it is carried out under a brutal occupation led by the Bush administration. Legitimacy and sovereignty are dead in Iraq until the last occupying military boot leaves its soil.

ZAVEN KHANJIAN

Glendale

*

I’m appalled that The Times would devote almost a half-page of coverage, with pictures, on Page A3 to three Israelis killed by alleged militants in Israel and only a small article on Page A4 (Oct. 17) on six U.S. troops killed in Iraq. Are the deaths of Israelis in the decades-old conflict in the Middle East more relevant to Americans than this disputed war in Iraq, which is taking the lives of so many of our young people?

JIMMIE DIXSON

Covina