Hard choices for U.S. on war

Re “Many options in Iraq, none easy,” Nov. 19

It is becoming more and more apparent that President Bush is not in a mood to accept advice on how to get out of Iraq from the Iraq Study Group, Henry Kissinger or the incoming Democratic Congress.

The president is standing by his refusal to accept anything less than victory, although he has never defined what will constitute winning in that war, which many experts agree has already been lost. Any future moves can only minimize further damage to Iraqis, U.S. standing in the world and U.S. casualties.

This portends contentious weeks and months ahead in Washington unless Democrats (and many Republicans) carry out the mandate of American voters to bring this sad war to as speedy a conclusion as possible.

SAUL HALPERT

Studio City

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Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) says more troops must go to Iraq if we want to win. What does “win” mean? We invaded Iraq on false pretenses, making a bad situation (the existence of terrorism) worse by metastasizing hatred toward the United States. We are now stuck with fixing the damage, but sacrificing more troops is not the answer.

Other than how we got there, Iraq is this generation’s Vietnam: a quagmire in the desert.

The sooner our soldiers are home, the better. Our fine young men and women should not be sacrificed for an ill-advised foreign policy based on false assumptions and false information. Bring the troops home.

JESSICA KATHERINE

FRAZIER

Sewanee, Tenn.

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The only option that will make the U.S. safe is total defeat of the enemy. The Iraq war is a disaster because it sacrifices our soldiers and weapons for the altruistic goal of Iraqi freedom.

Our military has only one moral purpose, a selfish motive: defending the individual rights of Americans. Iran, our most dangerous enemy, is on the verge of having the most destructive weapons. It is time for the U.S. to wake up, recognize the primary enemy and destroy Iran before its nuclear weapons are visited on America.

RALPH C. WHALEY

Barron, Wis.

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Withdraw with honor? It sounds chillingly similar to the Vietnam era’s “peace with honor” tripe handed to us by President Nixon.

It’s always sad to see an empire’s overreach result in such tragic consequences for the nations invaded (Iraq and Vietnam). Not only for the hundreds of thousands of the indigenous population killed and wounded, but the pathetic sight of a superpower vainly attempting to maintain the fiction of an honorable exit strategy. As they say, “the more things change, the more they stay the same.”

BOB TEIGAN

Simi Valley