Bush administration policies are a failure

Re “Ideas Key to Beating Terrorists, Bush Says,” Sept. 6

President Bush wants us to “stay the course” and warns us not to “cut and run” until the mission in Iraq is complete. But is he the only one to know when the mission is complete? He certainly has not defined the mission to the American people. The president has an MBA, but would any corporation want to apply his kind of project strategy, which is without any defined plan for success or measured benchmarks for achievement? Of course not.

We need to set measurable road maps for success in Iraq, including the quantitative training of Iraqi troops and police, established geographic controls by Iraqi forces, reconstruction milestones, etc., to determine reasonable reductions in U.S. forces. Why persist in pursuing a disastrous military decision, one initially based on deceptions and lies and that has cost thousands of lives and injuries and billions of U.S. dollars much better spent on the vital needs of Americans?

ALLAN BRUNMIER

Torrance

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Re “Security Is Atop GOP’s Agenda,” Sept. 5

It appears that when President Bush says the “U.S. is safer but not yet safe,” he means to begin scaring us again. When we talk about security, we are actually making people question it. I am saddened that elections are now fear-based. Terrorism being used for political ends by our government against us is a kind of terrorism and constitutes psychological abuse. Americans must become fully aware of this and, as a society, reject this unethical, destructive type of manipulation.

ROBERT E. GRIFFIN

Forty Fort, Pa.

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It is ironic that the Republican strategy is to focus on security, a perceived strength, two months before the midterm elections. The Republicans’ strategy reminds me of a union that, two to three months before a contract expires, shows up touting and promoting what a fantastic job it has done and is doing for its members. Although a union can maybe show positive results, the Republicans can show tax cuts for the rich, tax credits to big business, failed policy in Iraq, Katrina, corruption, lack of constitutional oversight of the president, no effort to control gasoline prices and higher costs to attend college on student loans. Strong family and moral values? I think not. Only greed and self-centered values that stick it to the poor and middle class.

LORENZO MOTA

Lakewood

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I just can’t believe that many people still buy the Bush administration’s addled foreign policy, and especially the tragically flawed Iraq misadventure, as being effective against terrorism. We are immeasurably less secure today than we were on the day we invaded Iraq. Not only have we alienated the Muslim world at a time when we should have been building bridges to it as part of the war against terrorism, we’ve diverted our attention from the real problems (not to mention creating a horrible problem in Iraq). Osama bin Laden and his buddies are still out there, fomenting more trouble. Iran and North Korea thumb their noses at us, knowing that we are stretched too thin. And this is the GOP’s strong point? Imagine what its weak points are.

JIM CRAFT

Torrance