Blame Democrats for Bush’s war?

Re “Bush makes it clear,” Opinion, Jan. 11

Jonah Goldberg, like many of those still supporting the fiasco in Iraq, blames Democrats for not providing an alternative solution. The basic flaw in his logic is that he fails to recognize that the whole fiasco was created by the lies and miscalculations of the Bush/Cheney/Rove administration, partly to make George W. Bush a “wartime president” who would be immune to the normal scrutiny of a patriotic and supportive electorate. It worked. They actually won the White House and kept both houses of Congress in 2004.

The tradition of politics remaining within our borders and not extending into foreign matters was combined with rubber-stamp Republican leadership in both houses to force Democrats to quietly observe the Iraq fiasco helplessly from the sidelines, even as it spiraled into chaos.

Bush can only hope to leave the mess for a future administration to deal with. But to blame Democrats for not having the answers now is simply ludicrous.

MARK A. FORGET

Findlay, Ohio

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Contrary to Goldberg’s assertion, President Bush is not trying to win the war. If he were, he would be sending 500,000 troops instead of 21,500. Bush is fishing for someone to blame for losing the war, and he is hoping that the Democrats bite. But no matter what the future brings, Bush alone is responsible for this war. From the first shot fired in Iraq until the guns fall silent, he is to blame for this monumental blunder.

MIKE GEIGER

Huntington Beach

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Goldberg says he does not know what Democrats want, as if they do not want a winning conclusion to the disaster. In his speech Wednesday, Bush freely admitted that taking an area and moving on allowed the enemy to move right back into the cleared areas. Who didn’t know that? Admitting that this was his strategy is tantamount to a firing offense.

Goldberg calls Democrats “immoral” for not saying what they want. One has to wonder how he can write that, given that there have been more than 3,000 U.S. personnel killed, who knows how many wounded, several contractors killed and hundreds of thousands of dead Iraqis in a failed effort that was ill-conceived, misguided, veiled in lies and stubbornly continued.

Now that is immoral.

JIM SUTHERLAND

Atlanta