Political game in war is changing

Re “Senators swipe back over Iraq,” Jan. 29

Once again we hear from the Bush administration that those who oppose its war policies are “emboldening the enemy.” Translation: helping the Al Qaeda terrorists who attacked the U.S. on 9/11. We have heard it numerous times, whenever President Bush’s war policies are questioned. And now, as the new Congress carries out the will of the American people and the bipartisan Iraq commission by opposing the Bush war policies, we are hearing it again.

There is nothing that has emboldened Al Qaeda more than the Bush war in Iraq. The invasion of Iraq, the humiliating torture of prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison, the killing of 60,000-plus civilians in the Bush war -- these events have significantly emboldened our enemies, resulting in a thriving haven for Al Qaeda terrorists where there was none before.

Our commander in chief, our president, our “decision-maker,” is the person most responsible for emboldening our enemies.

JOHN COLLINS

San Ramon, Calif.

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Re “Iraq courts Democrats,” Jan. 28

The Bush administration might have to find newer and better rationalizations to cover up its chicanery and incompetence. Not only Democrats but now even Iraqi lawmakers are emboldened to speak out. It’s devastating to have a member of the Islamic Dawa Party assert that President Bush “used to order Iraqi officials to do this and that” and that “the Republicans were dictating the political process in Iraq.”

This after the administration has repeatedly claimed that the slow pace of progress in Iraq is because of the Iraqi government’s reluctance to take charge and be responsible for its own fate. Ah, better get the vice president out to explain this one. He’ll probably recycle his “hogwash” defense and then simply make a preposterous assertion of his own, with an almost straight face.

RICHARD LETTIERI

Santa Ana