John Bolton and the big lie

Re “Bolton calls report on Iran ‘quasi-putsch,’ ” Dec. 9

John Bolton has proved, once again, his unfitness to hold high office by calling the intelligence community’s recent report on the Iranian nuclear policy a “quasi-putsch.” The report was the result of an extremely thorough investigation that reflects the consensus of all 16 intelligence agencies. Bolton is simply using what psychologists call “projection,” where someone projects his own intentions onto others. He was a willing and active participant in what he calls “politics disguised as intelligence” during the run-up to the invasion of Iraq. I find his use of the word “putsch” to be revealing. This was a term used in Germany when the Nazis made an early attempt at seizing power. Bolton seems to have an essentially Nazi orientation to the truth -- tell the big lie often enough and the public will eventually believe it.

Jim Cook

Laredo, Texas

For a U.S. publication, the news here is not what Bolton said, the news is that Der Spiegel, the top German news and opinion magazine, quoted Bolton at all. The only reason Spiegel would do that is to demonstrate to its readers how loony the U.S. extreme right-wing remains (much the same reason Spiegel prints interviews with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, North Korean leader Kim Jong Il or Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe). The general view in Europe is that we have little more than a year left before there is a chance of some adult supervision returning to the White House. Spiegel is reminding us that the problem runs deeper than just President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney.

Jurg Gassmann

Buhler, Switzerland

Re “Nine little words,” Opinion, Dec. 9

Even though Ahmadinejad publicly stated his willingness to wipe Israel off the map, Thomas Powers assures us that Iran would never use a nuclear weapon against Israel because of the horrific consequences. Powers should remember that Hitler willingly wasted the might of the German army on rounding up and murdering Jews and turned Germany to ashes in pursuit of his dream of ridding the world of Jews.

Powers should also remember that suicide bombers don’t exactly follow his advice about behaving rationally. Powers needs to spend a week or two at a madrasa with jihadists to free himself of his narrow assumptions about what they will or won’t do.

His suggestion that Israel’s fear of a nuclear Iran comes more from a fear of compromise than of nuclear holocaust is patently absurd.

Keith Abouaf

Los Angeles

For America’s sake, I wish I were as confident as Powers is in his hope that those nine little words contained in the National Intelligence Estimate declaring that there is no Iranian bomb program will make it “impossible [for Bush] to rally support for a new war from the American people.” Regrettably, I cannot forget those other fateful 16 little words about uranium from Niger in Bush’s 2003 State of the Union address that a 9/11-shaken and wary nation swallowed hook, line and sinker.

Dorian de Wind

Austin, Texas