Other proposals for an Iraq policy

Re “A road map out of Iraq,” Current, Feb. 11

Why do the Republicans in Congress keep insisting that there is no other plan for Iraq than the “surge” proposed by President Bush? Zbigniew Brzezinski has given a thoughtful four-point plan in Sunday’s Times. But it seems as though the president’s supporters have simply closed their minds to alternatives.

FRANCES SPIELBERG

Pacific Palisades

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I read the statements by the various presidential contenders, and I must say one stood out -- the only one to demonstrate a broad, international geopolitical understanding and provide a comprehensive strategy including military, political, and social components. The best statement was the one by Brzezinski. Of course, he’s not a native-born citizen, and he is almost 80 years old. So, the next best thing would be: Tell us who he is advising.

DAN KRONSTADT

Shadow Hills

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Let’s drop the euphemisms for a moment. If Brzezinski is right, Bush is reckless and incompetent for pushing the United States toward an even more catastrophic war in the Middle East. I think he’s right. Is anyone paying attention?

BART BRAVERMAN

Los Angeles

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During the Carter administration, the military was weakened to the point of a paper tiger. Through all this, Brzezinski was the foremost of Jimmy Carter’s advisors. Reading his piece, I see the same old disastrous policies come to life again. President Reagan defeated the Soviet Union and freed Eastern Europe. This was a strategic defeat of unprecedented proportions for world tyranny. Carter and Brzezinski did not do this and would never have done this, and the Soviet Union would still be in business today. If Al Qaeda is an isolated and ineffective organization, it is because the United States has taken an aggressive policy toward world terrorism.

RON MILCH

Garden Grove