Iraq

AMMAN, Jordan -- Five weeks after the United States and it allies drove Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's army from Kuwait, Iraq said yesterday that it will accept United Nations terms for a formal cease-fire in the Persian Gulf war.In accepting the conditions, the National Assembly in Baghdad, which follows Mr. Hussein's dictates, called the arrangement "unjust," but it acknowledged that Iraq had little choice if it was to avert further degradation.The...

Mr. Thompson, I noticed you led your article with your credentials as a Naval Reserve Officer during WWII and Korea. For that I thank you for your service. I too served in the military. My service includes 20-plus years as an active duty Air Force officer and graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy. During my time on active duty, I was a KC-135 and C-17 pilot, where I carried many of the fallen and wounded back from the combat zone, flying over 568 combat sorties in Bosnia, Iraq, and Afghanistan.

ARLINGTON, Va. - The Republican National Committee has released a "documentary" to counter Michael Moore's film Fahrenheit 9/11. The film (available for viewing at www.rnc.org) chronicles John Kerry's statements about Iraq and proves to all but the most partisan that this is a man who is a political opportunist and a vacillator who cannot be trusted with the power of the presidency. Opening with Mr. Kerry's pledge at the Democratic National Convention last month to "never mislead us into war," the film shows how Mr. Kerry consistently favored using force to oust Saddam Hussein until it proved politically advantageous for him to reverse course.

In response to Quinton D. Thompson's letter ("Obama's decision to leave Iraq led to catastrophe," April 5), I must remind your readers that the underlying catastrophe was perpetrated by then-President George W. Bush's illegal attack on Iraq. President Bush led this attack on the false pretenses that Saddam Hussein was harboring weapons of mass destruction that posed an imminent threat to our nation. It was Mr. Bush's irresponsible decision to take this action that led to thousands of U.S. soldiers dead or wounded (not to mention the innumerable Iraqi civilian casualties)

Letter writer Paul R. Schlitz Jr. can't seem to grasp the fact that an acknowledgment of Iraq's potential to harbor weapons of mass destruction doesn't necessarily indicate current agreement with the decision to invade, nor does it require someone to justify the invasion ("Explain again why we invaded Iraq?" Jan. 4). It's simply an acknowledgment of the situation. We do not invade every country that has the potential to produce WMD. I would also point out that failure to acknowledge threats is no less dangerous than inflating threats.

In reference to The Sun's editorial regarding the removal of U.S. combat troops from Iraq ("Home for Christmas," Dec. 25) and speaking as a veteran of five years in WWII and later recalled for three more in Korea, I am in complete disagreement with President Barack Obama's political greedy, unwise and short-sighted decision in withdrawing our troops from Iraq by the end of 2011 regardless of how they got there. Instead, I strongly believe that the U.S. should have maintained a strong standing military force in Iraq just as we did and still do in Japan, Germany and South Korea to assure that democracy remains in operation for the whole world to behold.

After two letters in attempt to justify himself and the invasion of Iraq ("Iraq's chemical weapons stocks were well documented," Dec. 28, and "Did Saddam have WMDs before the U.S. invasion in 2003?" Jan. 2) I still can't figure out what Michael DeCicco is trying to say in regard to the astonishingly stupid decision to go to invade Iraq in 2003. Clearly American citizens were in no danger from Saddam's stockpiles of chemical weapons even if they had ever been found or used on U.S. soldiers (which they weren't)

The Sun's most interesting editorial, "Fresh start in Iraq" (Dec. 27), stated, "It's vital that [Prime Minister Nouri] al-Maliki make good on his promise to lead a truly representative government that offers the hope of a better life for all its citizens. " But in my opinion, the U.S. is instead planning to remove that hope by withdrawing our troops from Iraq by the end of 2011. Look how long it took for our original 13 colonies to become a unified democratic country — not until after battles with other countries including England, Spain, France and Mexico and eventually leading to our Civil War. Also in order to protect our interests and advances following some of our past major wars, we still have standing armies in Japan, Germany and South Korea to assure the safety operation of their democratic governments and to prevent invasion by their aggressive neighbors.

In response to Quinton D. Thompson's letter ("Obama's decision to leave Iraq led to catastrophe," April 5), I must remind your readers that the underlying catastrophe was perpetrated by then-President George W. Bush's illegal attack on Iraq. President Bush led this attack on the false pretenses that Saddam Hussein was harboring weapons of mass destruction that posed an imminent threat to our nation. It was Mr. Bush's irresponsible decision to take this action that led to thousands of U.S. soldiers dead or wounded (not to mention the innumerable Iraqi civilian casualties)

T he Lesson Holds: What Tribal Engagement in Iraq Can Teach Us about Winning Allies in Afghanistan The Iraqi parliamentary elections last week highlight one very important lesson about tribal engagement in counterinsurgencies: It works. Voter turnout in Sunni tribal provinces such as Anbar and Diyala - formerly hotbeds of the insurgency - topped out at 70 percent. Among the long list of newly formed political parties vying for seats in parliament, more than a few boasted openly tribal affiliations.

In his recent letter ("Obama's decision to leave Iraq led to catastrophe," April 5), Quinton D. Thompson writes that he "knew that one day havoc would break out in the wake of President Obama's irresponsible decision to abandon Iraq. " Later on, he writes, "Unfortunately, a man-made bolt of lightning struck in Iraq on Dec. 31, 2011, when President Obama withdrew our troops - a selfish, egotistical maneuver on his part to please the folks back home in order to enhance his re-election chances in 2012.

As I read your recent article "Iran reaps gains of war in Iraq" (April 1), my mind swiftly swept back to Oct. 22, 2011, when The Sun published another report under the headline "Obama: Troops out of Iraq by Dec. 31. " I still have my copy of that edition because I knew that one day havoc would break out in the wake of President Obama's irresponsible decision to abandon Iraq. Unfortunately, we lack the fortitude to take corrective action to rectify what obviously was a horrendous mistake.

Being a Naval Reserve Officer veteran with eight years of active duty - five during WWII and three more in the Korean Conflict - - it was with a sad and heavy heart that I read a recent article in a local newspaper concerning the unrest and upheavals continuing in Iraq after the U.S. won the Iraqi War several years ago.   As was published in an editorial in this local paper, "Fresh start in Iraq," Dec. 27, 2010, "If Iraq is to become the peaceful...

Is the Iraq war to blame for the mess we are in? Now, I should qualify that question by explaining "mess" and "we. " By "mess," I mean the dawn of Barack Obama's second term, the predictably catastrophic rollout of Obamacare, the exploding debt and deficit, the stimulus boondoggles, etc. By "we," I mean conservatives (particularly those, like me, who supported the war), but also anyone else who doesn't think President Obama has done a bang-up job. There seems to be a growing consensus that the answer to that question is "yes.

It is great that the General Assembly has devised a program to spend $1 billion to rebuild the Baltimore City schools as related in your editorial ("Building for the future," March 20). Fifteen percent of Americans are on food stamps, which costs about $70 billion annually. Yet in the last 10 years, we spent over $700 billion for the Iraq war. In other words, we spent enough on fighting in Iraq to rebuild the schools of 700 cities throughout the United States or finance our food stamp program for 10 years.

The 10th anniversary of the American invasion of Iraq seems an appropriate time to look back at how it all happened and what it has wrought, not so much for Iraq as for the United States, which poured its own troops, treasure and world reputation into that colossal misadventure. American combat forces have finally been withdrawn, but with a continuing U.S. hand-holding of a propped-up and shaky regime in Baghdad. Saddam Hussein is dead, but outbursts of deadly violence continue as the war in Afghanistan, from which the Iraq invasion was a costly diversion, drags on. Was it worth it?

Nobody except Bob Hope came over to Vietnam when I was there in '67-'68. I thank Gov. Martin O'Malley for going in harm's way to see the troops from Maryland ("Lt. Gov. Brown defends O'Malley's trip to Iraq," Mar. 2). Things can happen on these trips. William R. Bonnett Send letters to the editor to talkback@baltimoresun.com.

How ironic that Richard Vatz's column claiming unassailable evidence for liberal bias in the media appears exactly 10 years after the start of our nation's invasion of Iraq ("Liberal bias is beyond doubt," March 18). In case anyone has forgotten, the media at that time acted mostly in lock-step with the Republican administration, with little questioning of the war's justification or likely outcome. As has been well-documented, many reporters who raised such questions or covered the invasion's progress in less-than-glowing terms had their careers curtailed by their bosses.

Ten years have passed since the United States invaded Iraq, a decision that almost everyone now ranks as one of the worst foreign policy blunders of our time. Why "almost"? Former President George W. Bush and his top aides still maintain that the invasion was a good idea, even though the premise on which the war was based - that Saddam Hussein had acquired weapons of mass destruction - proved false, and even though the ensuing war claimed the lives of more than 4,500 Americans and an estimated 127,000 Iraqis.