Your views
Sunday, December 11, 2005
"Not a fan of John Kerry" (Your Views, Dec. 6) begins by lauding President Bush's "eloquent" Annapolis speech defending his Iraq policy and then continues on to accuse Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., of responding with "fabrications, distortions, and clichés."
The letter fails to mention Bush's continued attempt to link Saddam Hussein to the al-Qaida terrorists of Sept. 11 even as Tom Kean points out the falsehood of any such claims.
Nor does the letter note Bush's assertions that Iraqi troops are now taking the lead in combat. Such assertions have been clearly refuted by the eyewitness accounts of Time magazine's embedded Baghdad bureau chief and by the U.S. Army leadership's testimony before the U.S. Senate that the Iraqi army has only one battalion capable of functioning independently.
Far from offering a "Plan for Victory," as the array of signs behind him proclaimed, this president can only offer yet another collection of "fabrications, distortions, and clichés," to borrow a phrase.
The president must finally admit the abject failure of his policies and reach across the aisle to experienced men like Kerry and Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., for help in formulating a realistic plan for a successful and honorable end to this conflict.
Patrick S. Vidaver
Hackensack Dec. 7
The writer of "Not a fan of John Kerry" (Your Views, Dec. 6) refers to President Bush's eloquent speech on the Iraq war and Sen. John Kerry's response. He has it wrong.
President Bush's speech at Annapolis was full of fabrications, distortions, and clichés; it should embarrass and anger every American.
Kerry's response was factual and challenging, as are his ideas for going forward and succeeding in Iraq, expressed in an Oct. 26 speech at Georgetown University. As Kerry said: "No war has ever been won with sound bites ... by keeping the American people in the dark ... without a clear strategy."
The Bush administration is great on spin and hype, not much on governance.
Maureen Schmude
Dumont, Dec. 6
I disagree with "Assault on Bush emboldens enemy" (Your Views, Dec. 4).
Does the writer believe that insurgents in Iraq care about or are even aware of what the president's critics are saying? Does he think they watch CNN? My guess is the insurgents simply want foreigners out of their country, and they fight in the only way they can - roadside bombs and suicide attacks.
Perhaps the Iraqis see us as the aggressor because they never attacked us. The person who did that was Osama bin Laden (a name you don't hear much these days). Regardless, the post-invasion liberation/occupation of Iraq has been executed so poorly that any reasonable chance for success has long since evaporated, along with the ambitious notion of "sowing the seeds of democracy."
I believe the writer confuses criticism of the president with lack of patriotism. I support the troops - and by this I mean that I'd prefer they didn't get killed at all, but particularly not by a roadside bomb, never seeing their enemy.
These young people made a decision and promised to risk their lives protecting our great nation, and we as a people and especially our president owe them something better than "stay the course."
Bryan Stutz
Paramus, Dec. 5
http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk0MDImZmdiZWw3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTY4MzM1MzAmeXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk2