Goldberg’s losing battle

Re “Between Tenet’s lines,” Opinion, May 1

When will the president’s apologists give up their lame attempts to justify this war? Jonah Goldberg exhibits it all when he says that then-Secretary of State Colin L. Powell’s presentation before the United Nations “reflected the best intelligence available.” But the intelligence was wrong about the uranium, the centrifuges, chemical and biological weapons and Iraqi support for terrorists. The biggest crime perpetrated by this administration was going to war when the real facts weren’t known. The rush to war reflected the mental state (and arrogance) of the president and his advisors, not the reality of what was on the ground in Iraq.

RALPH MITCHELL

Monterey Park

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Goldberg never fails to make me laugh to keep from crying. His latest allusion to the continued occupation of Iraq is a case in point: We’re on a road trip, kids. And when we get to Disneyland, you’ll stop whining about the traffic. Here’s a better scenario: The American people had a black bag shoved over our heads and were thrown into the back of a van speeding down a crowded sidewalk, mowing down innocent civilians on the way to the bank. And Goldberg was in the passenger seat, grinning at the carnage like a toddler with a sippy cup. Goldberg and his fellow travelers are in for a world of hurt come November 2008. Too bad the men and women actually put into harm’s way may be forced to wait that long.

DAVID BANKS

Marina del Rey

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Goldberg further bathes in the blood of this immoral war by completely discounting millions of Americans who opposed it from the very beginning and will never feel, regardless of the outcome, that it’s been worth the cost in lives, money and world respect.

JON WILLIAMS

Santa Barbara

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We need not look all the way back to the Vietnam War to see the folly of Goldberg’s partisan idealism. We only need to recall last Sunday’s episode of “The Sopranos,” in which we saw the lure and the foolhardiness (and, in war, the absolute tragedy) of chasing your losses.

CRAIG BORETH

Santa Monica