Wolfowitz must be held accountable

Re “Wolfowitz owes us an explanation,” Current, Dec. 24

Sonni Efron’s article taking former Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz to task is mostly on point except for one glaring statement: Efron says it was silly when a protester called Wolfowitz a war criminal. Efron may disagree with the statement, but the notion is far from silly. If President Clinton can be called to the bar for having a moment of indiscretion, what happens to presidents and their advisors who advocate and wage an illegal war, based on lies and cooked intelligence, causing the deaths of almost 3,000 Americans and somewhere between 50,000 and 600,000 Iraqis and draining the budget of possibly a trillion dollars before the finish? If the possibility of a war crime is not found in this case, it won’t be found anywhere, and Saddam Hussein should do his time on the French Riviera.

HENRY SCHWAN

San Francisco

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Thank you for reminding us of Wolfowitz’s key role in what is perhaps this nation’s worst atrocity. Wolfowitz didn’t hesitate to waste U.S treasure, credibility and, sadly, lives on this neocon misadventure. His hesitation to now defend or even explain his rationale falls flat. That Atlanta heckler got it right: war criminal.

THOMAS BLISS

Sherman Oaks

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Thank you for pointing out the culpability of Wolfowitz in our tragedy in Iraq. The Iraq Study Group states that we must look forward in reviewing whatever options may exist for leaving Iraq. But we also need to look back and hold those individuals, from the president on down, accountable for this debacle.

ROB ROBERTSON

Paducah, Ky.

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Wolfowitz has evaded accountability and scrutiny. I scratched my head when I read, “He was a leading defense strategist ... a man whose views on democracy and the Middle East were taken seriously.” His gutless response, “I’m not a U.S. official anymore and unfortunately not a private citizen either,” torqued my jaw. As 2007 arrives and the new Congress is set to convene, perhaps Wolfowitz can purse his lips in front of various select Senate and House hearings. Wolfowitz and his ilk’s strategy can be scrutinized. Then he can burrow himself away like a weasel at the World Bank.

ERNIE GARCIA

Redlands