Letters

Saddam's Last Stand

"I remain against the war, but I congratulate the soldiers of the U.S. and its allies for freeing the Iraqis from a terrible dictatorship."
ABDOU RAZAC AMBALI
New York City

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CNN.com: Latest News

Your cover photo was remarkable for its contrasts [April 14]. At first glance, I saw the face of a man sharing a ribald joke or perhaps preparing to engage in impish folly. On second glance, however, as I looked carefully at Saddam Hussein's eyes, I could see the jagged edge of a gangrenous soul.
JAMES H. HYDE
Stowe, Vt.

I may not always agree with President Bush's sometimes arrogant rhetoric, and I may not feel he is the most diplomatic man in the world, but he got the job in Iraq done with relatively few casualties and freed the Iraqi people from a cruel, long-standing dictatorship. So I ask anyone critical of Bush and how he has handled the war, Could you have done it any better?
LEIGH GERNERT
Los Angeles

Congratulations to Iraq on its freedom from a brutal dictator. We Afghans share the feelings of Iraqis. We have suffered similar hardships at the hands of the Taliban and terrorists in our country. We feel great sorrow for Iraqi civilian casualties, but one cannot obtain freedom without sacrifice. We hope the U.S. and others in the world community will fulfill the commitments they made to the Afghans and Iraqis and will bring peace, stability and prosperity to both countries.
BASHAAR KHAN
Jalalabad, Afghanistan

The U.S. has certainly mastered the technology to design and build amazing weapons of war. But how much greater a nation we would be if we put more of our talents and resources toward benefiting humanity rather than toward killing.
HARRY FARINA
Coral Springs, Fla.

Old Rivals Square Off

Re "Clash Of The Administration Titans," your story on the foreign-policy feud between Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Secretary of State Colin Powell over how to rebuild a post-Saddam Iraq [THE RECONSTRUCTION, April 14]: What are the frothing-at-the-mouth military hawks going to say next? That Powell is an unpatriotic traitor for wanting the State Department and the U.N. to have a role in Iraq? The world view espoused by neoconservatives such as Rumsfeld in which the Pentagon would slam the door on the U.N., Britain, the State Department and anyone else who has a problem with their messianic aspirations will lead us down a path to chaos and ruin. More moderate voices must be allowed to emerge in what has become a frightening American landscape of bellicosity and flag waving, with the media acting as ringleaders.
THOMAS STARKY
New York City

You characterized those who oppose U.N. involvement in postwar Iraq as believing "If you weren't with us on the takeoff, you don't deserve to be there for the landing." I thought we were trying to make the world a better place. It is the world community that will be affected by the results of Iraq's reconstruction for a long time. It is the world community, then, that should participate in the establishment of a new Iraq. Isn't that the democratic way?
DAMON REGAN
Orlando, Fla.

I hope Powell's plan to include the U.N. in the effort to rebuild Iraq prevails over Rumsfeld's unilateral approach. But given Bush's go-it-alone war rhetoric, it doesn't look good for the sensible path espoused by Powell. So it appears that the hawks are destined to win. Their pipe dream of quickly building a democracy is ludicrous. And what if Iraq's free choice of leadership does not meet with the hawks' approval? Would pre-emptive intervention be necessary again?
DICK MEIS
Murrieta, Calif.

The Power of Simplicity

Why did a gifted writer like Joe Klein [IN THE ARENA, April 14] so gratuitously taunt President Bush about his inability to spontaneously speak about complex ideas and state that "he has not grown in stature or gravitas, as wartime leaders usually do"? If Bush had another handicap, such as being blind, Klein would surely not point out in the middle of a war that the President is still blind. Inarticulateness does not keep Bush from leading the country, nor does it prevent him from surrounding himself with brilliant, focused men and women who are quietly getting the job done.
MARSHA D. O'CONNOR
New Orleans

Klein was right on the money about Bush's bunker mentality and diminished presence. At an embarrassing Camp David press conference, British Prime Minister Tony Blair was forced to explain postwar complexities with the graceful fluency that is perhaps his last remaining virtue, while the leader of the free world, America's President, strutted and bullied his questioners like a war-movie tough guy. Many of us who didn't vote for Bush hoped he would grow into his job. Too bad it hasn't happened.
A. RICHARD IMMEL
Moraga, Calif.

Klein called the President's rhetoric "bleak" and "simple," with even simpler ideas. Bush's ideas, however, have resulted in freeing millions from horrible oppression in less than a month. If this is simplistic, count me in. Bush knows his limits and so has selected the strongest and smartest Cabinet and best advisers in many a presidency.
ROBERT STERN
Lima, Ohio