Bush fails to impress at the United Nations

Re “At U.N., Bush Urges Reform in Middle East,” Sept. 20

Speaking at the United Nations on Tuesday, President Bush referred to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, emphasizing that the “equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world.” It’s too bad he didn’t read a bit further, specifically Article 5: “No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.” Our administration has been engaging in torture since the beginning of the so-called war on terror, all the while denying that it does so.

The hypocrisy shown by Bush seems to have no bounds. I am shocked and ashamed. Isn’t it time for Congress to call this president to account?

DONALD BRODER

Studio City

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“Bush Urges Reform in Middle East,” says the headline. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad gets the role of “denouncer” in a small photo off to the side. Bush, the architect of the misery depicted on the left of the page, is taken seriously even though he’s spouting the same empty garbage he’s used as an excuse to terrorize the Middle East for years; the president of Iran, who Tuesday -- in words to the U.N. and in an interview with NBC -- spoke articulately and clearly about Iran’s point of view toward us, is treated like a wasp at a picnic. Maybe he said some things we’d rather not hear (such as, who, in this world, is responsible for the most killing, and why are we paranoid about Iran), but he deserves better than to be called a “denouncer.” This kind of news coverage is biased and will only prolong the mutual misunderstanding between cultures and nations that is so bedeviling us today. Never mind giving Bush’s pernicious lies another forum, I’m very disappointed in The Times.

TED REISSE

Sherman Oaks