What democarcy?

The Bush administration keeps telling us that the sacrifices of our military personnel have resulted in the establishment of democracy and freedom in Iraq. In light of recent events, I have to question this claim. Only a few months ago, the government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki lodged a strong complaint with the U.S. government for airstrikes on civilian targets without Iraqi consent. More recently, the U.S. military vetoed the Iraqi choice for a general to lead the Iraqi forces in a joint operation with U.S. troops. On Jan. 15, the Courier-Post reported that Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari had called for the release of five Iranians detained by the U.S. military, stating they were part of a legitimate diplomatic mission. He discounted American accusations that they belonged to the Revolutionary Guard, a hard-line military force. When duly elected officials are summarily overruled by the American occupation force in many important and vital issues, where is the free democracy? In spite of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's denial that it is a puppet government, her rhetoric is compromised by the facts. Anthony Seminara, Cherry Hill - Courier Post, January 31, 2007

No signs of peace

American troops should never have been sent to Iraq. The sending of additional troops is wrong because I believe the Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds have a history of not being able to live in peace with each other. Perhaps, too, it might inflame them to think the Americans will be giving favors to one and not the other, encouraging the killing of Americans. Now that the Iraqi people have voted to have a democratic government, let them demonstrate how much they want peace by taking control. Elizabeth Rockefeller, Voorhees - Courier Post, January 31, 2007

Andrews on the mark

I am thrilled that U.S. Rep. Rob Andrews, D-Haddon Heights, has taken the voters of South Jersey seriously. Andrews has taken the lead and has come out against President Bush's call for an increase of American troops in Iraq. The Iraq war has gone on too long and we have paid a heavy price with our soldiers' lives on behalf of a country that refuses to do its part. I encourage Andrews to continue his opposition to an increase of soldiers, but to continue to support those who are already there. I pray that U.S. Sens. Frank Lautenberg, D-Cliffside Park, and Robert Menendez, D-Hoboken, follow the leadership Andrews has demonstrated on this issue. Juan R. Rodriguez, Camden - Courier Post, January 28, 2007

No shame

What more can be said about the Great Divider's, oops -- the Decider's ruinous, morale-busting call for additional troops to the inescapable black hole once known as Iraq? The commander in chief's demand for 21,000 additional troops and hundreds of millions more in scarce tax dollars is President Bush's final act of desperation. To quote from the Army-McCarthy hearings from the mid-'50s when Army attorney Joseph Welch addressed the infamous political witch hunter U.S. Sen. Joseph McCarthy, R-Wis.: "Until this moment, I have never really gauged your recklessness . . . have you no sense of decency." Well, has Bush no shame? How much longer must his Iraqi disaster and fatal judgments continue? How many more Americans, allies and Iraqis must die so he and his fellow chicken hawks, in the safety of the White House, may save what is left of his political fortunes and dubious heritage? Nancy R. Muccolini, Eastampton - Courier Post, January 25, 2007

War is good for profiteers

President Bush and his cohorts don't really care about what happens on the ground in Iraq; they care about what comes out of the ground. Iraq's oil justifies any means. What happens to Iraqi civilians and American soldiers caught up in the war is of no ultimate importance. Bush and his cohorts have won even if the surge fails and Iraq lapses into perpetual anarchy. They've won even if the whole region goes up in flames, because this will just mean more war, more profiteering, more fear and even more profiteering. The only way they can lose the Iraq war is if they are arrested and imprisoned for their war crimes. And we all know that's not going to happen. I say “no” to Bush's surge. Bring our soldiers home now. Joseph Gabisch, Egg Harbor Township - Atlantic City Press, January 22, 2007

Editorial right on Bush's surge

have my disagreements with The Press from time to time, but the Jan. 11 editorial, “A surge too far/Bush is wrong,” was right on the money. I could not agree with you more. While serving on the USS Intrepid in the late 1950s in the Mediterranean Sea, we were on standby for three days, with our aircraft armed with bombs. Our target was Lebanon. Twenty-four hours a day we waited for word to strike. When the word came, it was to stand down. We almost went to war, and the folks back home didn't even know it. Someone in Washington had enough sense to keep the United States out of that part of the world then. I understand we were looking for weapons of mass destruction, but when they were not found, we should have pulled out then, before more than 3,000 of our people were dead. Now here we go again, sending more troops into harm's way. For what? Oil? Or a president who does not know the history of that part of the world? Or who just can't say it's time to bring the troops home? Or who is poorly advised? Does President Bush not see what he has done to his own party? It's easy for old men to make war and send other people's kids to fight it. God bless them all, and may they come home soon. Anyway, nice job, Press of Atlantic City. James Keeping, Absecon - Atlantic City Press, January 22, 2007

Thanks, but we all know that more troops will die

It's bad enough that President Bush is requesting additional troops be deployed to Iraq; it's rather depressing that he had to stress the fact more servicemen and women will be sacrificing their lives. This, to me, is like adding insult to injury. It's insulting our intelligence by telling us that their lives will be sacrificed. We have enough intelligence to assume that much. It hurts twice as much to hear it as well as assuming it. Joan Hayden, Egg Harbor Township - Atlantic City Press, January 22, 2007

Ambrose wrong on war's critics

Jay Ambrose's Jan. 10 commentary, “Critics of a surge want to surrender,” has just about everything wrong, starting with the headline. Surrender is what you do when you are overwhelmed, facing certain death. It involves disarming, paying reparations and removal of the defeated government with a new one provided by the victor. Last I checked, we aren't mothballing our Navy, paying reparations to the Baathists, or changing our government to comply with the “victor's” demands. Iraqis have seen we didn't really bring democracy. We decided former Baathists couldn't be part of the new Iraq. We decided that Shiite clerics like Muqtada al-Sadr couldn't be part of the government. Only U.S. supporters need apply. Since the surge is so important and Ambrose supports it, I wonder why he is writing his column? Isn't there an Army recruitment office near him? Sacrifices still need to be made, and he could be one of them. The president has decided that the Iraqi insurgents need a few more targets. His belief in sacrifice reminds me of something Mark Twain said of charity. When asked if he was in favor of charity, Twain answered: “Is that giving or getting?” For the president, sacrifice is something that someone else does. Bob Filipczak, Linwood - Atlantic City Press, January 22, 2007

Bush supporter has head in sand

The writer of the Jan. 8 letter, “Bush and Ford in similar spots,” who said that President Bush was doing a fine job, must have his head in the sand. The No. 1 issue in the country is the Iraq war. Bush cannot explain what we are fighting for and what success means. This administration also has classified more information as secret than any previous administration. How about our civil rights? Reading our first-class mail, listening to our phone conversations. A lack of funds for our cities is causing police budgets to be cut; schools need repairs, equipment and new faculties. Global warming is of no concern to Bush; wages are low; corruption is high. Shall I go on, or should we just cover up in the sand completely? Alvin Washington, Atlantic City- Atlantic City Press, January 22, 2007

Snow job

What President Bush is giving the American people is another snow job by pouring another 20,000 troops into Iraq. He unilaterally started the war and Vice President Dick Cheney joined in to give contracts to Republican donors, using other people's children to achieve their ends. Where are the Bush and Cheney children? This is the Bush-Cheney war. This surge is nothing more than a trickle and is doomed to failure because it is dependent on Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's promise to rein in Shiite militias, which he has not done. We are caught in the middle of a civil war. Bush is asking the American people to believe in the tooth fairy. The only hope of the American people is for the new Congress to exercise control of American foreign policy. Walter Gollub, Voorhees - January 20, 2007

Disturbing

The recent provocations of Iran by the Bush administration should disturb us all. President Bush scared us into the Iraq quagmire with visions of mushroom clouds in the American heartland. Iran, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency and other experts, is believed to be five to 10 years from having an atomic weapon. The recent arrest of Iranian diplomats in Iraq and the new deployment of a carrier strike force in the Gulf region are signs of this provocation. The planned deployment of Patriot missile batteries in Gulf Cooperation Council states (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates) can only signify the looming air attack of Iran. Iran has a weak air force and its retaliatory efforts would be through ballistic missile strikes at our allies in the Gulf. Are Americans going to be steamrolled and conned into a larger quagmire in the Middle East? At what extraordinary price of blood and treasure? U.S. Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., is onto this diabolical scheme. "When you set in motion the kind of policy that the president is talking about here," he warned Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, "it's very, very dangerous." Contact your congressman and senators and demand they rein in the ongoing madness of this administration. Roy Lehman, Woolwich - January 20, 2007

Won't heed advice

After all the leaks coming out of President Bush's office recently, it is no surprise that he has decided to commit more troops toward quelling the violence in Baghdad. Bush can't seem to get it right. When he first attacked Iraq in 2003, he fired the general who advised the need for 300,000 troops to control the country when the existing security structure collapsed. He also ignored the fact that his father had 500,000 troops during the Gulf War at his disposal and he did not even dismantle the military or the national police structure. Now, Bush has apparently decided to rotate the commanders who recommended against sending more troops into Baghdad. He has already forgotten the lesson taught by the surge of troops inserted last fall to quell sectarian violence and succeeded only in escalating hostilities and bringing more Americans home in body bags. Worst of all, Bush has failed to heed our request loudly voiced in the last election that we no longer support his ill-conceived adventure in Iraq. The cost of American and Iraqi lives he is willing to expend is no longer acceptable. The nearly $400 billion spent so far and still counting could be better spent on domestic programs. Somebody should tell Bush that his track record as a "decider" is none too good and it is time he starts to pay more attention to those around him who seem to have a better grasp of reality than he does. Nick Reina, Milmay - Courier Post, January 20, 2007

The behavior of this president is beyond words

Not only has he run up our national debt to frightening proportions, caused the worst deficit the country has ever had, ignored global warming, spent more than $300 billion on a pre-emptive war his administration maneuvered the country into, now he wants to compound the debacle by sending more troops into Iraq. When will it be clear to President Bush that a war against terror cannot be waged with a regular army? As good as our soldiers are, they are caught up in a civil struggle between opposing Iraqi factions, attacking each other in a non-stop torrent of violence. No army can effectively deal with house-to-house battles against an enemy that might be anyone they see on the street. A war in the byways of Baghdad is what we are in. Then why send even more troops? The only motive I can conceive of is that Bush wants to keep on the offensive, and when it fails, he will leave the whole mess to the Democrats and the president to follow and say: “History will judge. You didn't let me finish the job. If I'd have had unflinching support we would have prevailed.” It is a Machiavellian tactic. Despite a wide majority of the American people against his policies in Iraq, he goes on and on, making decisions unilaterally. Can he not be stopped by Congress and/or mass protests by the public? Jerry Hyman, Ventnor - Atlantic City Press, January 18, 2007

Egocentric man

After the 2004 elections, President Bush declared his slim, disputatious victory to be a mandate and proceeded to pursue the most extreme, unwelcome schemes he and his handlers had long cherished. In 2006, American voters signaled a stunning mandate for change, overturning entrenched incumbents in both houses of Congress. Two-thirds of American voters, the ones Bush works for, have clearly indicated impatience with this failed Iraq occupation. The most experienced advisers from previous administrations have given clear and sage advice on how to proceed, but the puerile president has listened only to those advisers he has always heeded. He now has ordered a large-scale escalation of the number of American sons and daughters trapped in a brutal civil war. This is not a game. The rank cronyism, incompetence and delusional denial of this administration have cost our people far too much. If this egocentric man refuses to obey the law, encourages torture and illegal invasions of privacy and drives our economy into grinding debt for the benefit of war profiteers, he must go. He has committed multiple high crimes and misdemeanors. He refuses to heed the will of the people. If any president has ever deserved impeachment, it is this one. Keith Lammers, Collingswood - January 17, 2007

Vehicle for change

Whoever occupies the White House in 2009 must use the bitter, brutal and humiliating lessons of Iraq as a vehicle for change. This country cannot continue to expend its human and monetary resources to rescue countries that have little or no interest in democracy. No one in Vietnam or Iraq asked for our help, yet we mounted invasions on spurious pretexts and have had, and are getting, our noses rubbed in the dirt. The direct result of America's archaic foreign policies is an ongoing oil crisis, a weakening dollar and an economy that depends on foreign investors. All of the foregoing is a prescription for disaster and urgent remedial action must be our course. I urge the formation of a commission on the order of the Iraq Study Group. America can no longer ignore its own problems and ride to the rescue of those countries whose citizens won't try to help themselves. We are on the cusp of a disaster so awesome that it could produce permanent economic and political chaos if we fail to act. The alternative is political orthodoxy and the erosion and eventual loss of our freedoms. Ephraim Levin, Philadelphia - Courier Post, January 16, 2007

Rich get richer, workers struggle

Let them eat Spam. The exponential skewing upward of America's wealth curve continues unabated. CEO types buy ever-more expensive yachts and Rhode Island style mansions with bonuses unconnected to job performance. Weak unions give away the farm, refusing to flex their muscle, and middle-class blue- and white-collar working stiffs metaphorically eat Spam sandwiches because they can't afford the good stuff. Productivity stats soar thanks to hard-working front-liners, but their paychecks don't reflect it. Indeed, over the last six years, productivity in the nonfarm sector rose 18 percent, but inflation-adjusted weekly wages increased a mere 1 percent. Call that fair? Maybe that miniscule pay raise buys a better grade of Spam, but the filet and Perrier, alas, is reserved for the privileged class. Perhaps someday, snookered two-wage-earner, stressed-out families struggling to make ends meet and unable to spend sufficient time nurturing their children, might find a small block of time to contemplate the filthy-rich nanny-hiring class, and wonder why ordinary folks can't indulge in even a small slice of their pie. Not that we should begrudge wealthy individuals truly earning their bucks. But when unctuous hired-gun politicians demand we not engage in class warfare by daring to question why corporate muckamucks and other manipulators feed off our blood, sweat and tears, we should also wonder if P.T. Barnum had it right: A sucker is born every minute. Lawrence Uniglicht, Galloway Township - Atlantic City Press, January 16, 2007

Bush undermining Constitution

Regarding the Dec. 17 article, “Foreign policy is president's job”: I wholeheartedly agree — only if upholding the U.S. Constitution is job one. A president's first consideration above all else is to defend, protect and preserve the U.S. Constitution. This is a sworn oath taken the day he assumes office, a serious undertaking and certainly not to be delegated to Mickey Mouse. I just think Bush is doing a terrible job, certainly not the actions of one with the interests of our Constitution in mind. An example is the countless blunders, needless deaths and no plan for winning in the Iraqi war. And yet, Bush still carries on with this foreign policy like he has no responsibility toward the very Vonstitution he has sworn to uphold. I believe he has no right to do this. He is putting the U.S. Constitution in possible jeopardy on a mere “fling.” He's definitely had the time to rethink this policy. What will it take? He is risking the safety and the ideals the Constitution represents by going into a foreign country with violence. Given these attacks of his, I definitely feel this president is seriously compromising the meaning of the very oath he had taken to uphold the U.S. Constitution. May Huddleston, Atlantic City - Atlantic City Press, January 11, 2007

President Bush is no Gerald Ford

Gerald Ford has emerged with the New Year as a singular individual with firmly imbedded virtues of integrity, honesty, courage, kindness and intelligence. These qualities, together with the decisiveness displayed during his short presidency, make up his enduring legacy. Based on these qualities, it seems doubtful that any of his thinking or decisions were guided by any concern for his legacy. We find the current president presiding over a catastrophic decline in America's prestige and honor. After six years, articles are appearing about the president's and his followers' concern for his legacy. There is something unseemly if not disgusting about this. As a matter of concern, weigh his legacy (historic reputation) against the needs of a debt-ridden country of 300 million with a fractured health system in the midst of a terrifying self-induced war. And no matter how many indicators of economic growth such as the rising stock market are cited, the mass of the population is experiencing an insecure, declining standard of living and they know it. The good times are not trickling down as good old President Reagan predicted. As for the present president's personal legacy, who cares? Joseph Linsk, Atlantic City - Atlantic City Press, January 11, 2007

America's middle class disappearing

The comedian George Carlin has a routine about particular phrases that create confusion and hide from us the reality of what we're actually seeing, doing or eating. For instance, Carlin asks, what is a "jumbo shrimp" or a "semi-boneless ham?" In other words, shrimp can be either big or large and ham either does or does not have bones in it. I think some in Washington, D.C., are watching Carlin's routines, particularly when it comes to the issue of protecting the rights of workingmen and women. It's a common practice in Washington to name a law one thing when in fact it's designed to do something entirely different. Nothing could be truer then the so-called "Bill of Rights" for workers. This bill has done more to restrict workingmen and women from joining unions and strip away hard-fought rights and concessions for working families than any other legislation in recent memory. This "Bill of Rights" measure, combined with the rush to outsource American jobs, means that union membership in America has steadily declined to a level now estimated at less than 8 percent in the private sector. It cannot be said often enough that the middle class in the United States was built on the backs and with the sweat and tears of workingmen and women. If we continue to outsource their jobs and price their health care so high they can no longer afford to have it, the middle class that supports our nation will most assuredly evaporate into history. And then where will we be? Chip Gerrity, President, NJIBEW - Daily Journal, January 10, 2007

Peace unlikely in divided Iraq

The unseemly handling of the execution of Saddam Hussein by the Shiite-controlled government of Iraq only adds fodder to what many Americans are calling the misadventure of our time, and perhaps of all time. It's not as if Saddam's Sunni cohorts needed to witness another manifestation of the control Shiites and Kurds now have in the new ruling party. However, the reluctance of the Shiites to conduct a reasonable, solemn execution to punish this most hated despot only underscores their pent-up anger and the frustrations they face in trying to meld a truly disparate populace into a functioning government. Regrettably, we are smack dab in the middle of an internecine struggle palpably different than any we've faced as a nation. The scores to be settled between the two main sects of Islam go back centuries. Our leaders wanted to inject democracy and freedom into the lives of Iraqis, but many of them want to seek revenge at any cost. Like a majority of the population, I supported the war when presented with the “facts” by our president. Now, I embrace the need to cut our losses in a no-win war, turn the job of security completely over to the elected government and begin to close this sad chapter in our history. Frank Tamru, Egg Harbor Twp - Atlantic City Press, January 10, 2007

Senator Menendez appointed to key committees

Newly elected New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez has been appointed to some extremely important committees, none more so than Senate Foreign Relations, chaired by Sen. Biden of Delaware. Menendez, who voted against giving President Bush the authority to invade Iraq, did his homework and now will work to bring the troops home. The newly constituted committee will do what the GOP-controlled committee was loath to do -- provide oversight of Bush administration foreign policy. He also will be on the Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, which should help increase funding for affordable housing and mass transit, which have suffered under President Bush but are essential to New Jersey. We can be confident that Menendez will be an active member of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, working to implement renewable energy, instead of rewarding big oil companies with tax cuts and business incentives. Our natural resources, devastated by cuts in funding with little or no notice given by the administration, may now be given a chance to recover. Republicans have a reputation for fiscal responsibility, but for six years the president and Congress have enormously increased the national debt. The Democrats, including Menendez as a member of the Budget Committee, intend to require that spending be covered by a funding source, which may prompt Congressional Republicans to return to their fiscal roots. We hope Sen. Menendez will play a major role in restoring Congress to its rightful position of oversight and in not ceding any additional powers to the executive branch. Bettie J. Reina, Milmay - Daily Journal, January 8, 2007

Withdraw troops

Bring all of our troops home now from Iraq. Stop all funding for this illegal and immoral invasion. Thousands of innocent Iraqi civilians and 3,000 American troops have perished in this illegal and immoral war since 2003. Most Iraqis are now begging the United States to withdraw our troops immediately from their country. Give the Iraqis what they want. The United States government is already guilty of numerous war crimes and crimes against humanity. Americans have had enough. Support HR 1106, Articles of Impeachment sponsored by former U.S. Rep. Cynthia McKinney, D-Ga. End this bloodletting war-for-oil and war-for-profits now. As it is, fossil fuels are killing the planet vis-a-vis global warming. While you are at it, embrace new clean-air technologies using solar and wind methods. Democratic victories in November were not a mandate to increase troop levels in Iraq. More troops equals more violence, more death and destruction and more wars (for example, North Korea and Iran). Is this really why Congress wants to reinstitute the draft? War is not the answer. Bring our troops home now. Harry J. Conrow, Collingswood - Courier Post, January 8, 2007

Bush war policy an abuse of power

As the Declaration of Independence says, governments derive their powers “from the consent of the governed.” It also says that after “a long train of abuses and usurpations ... it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government.” In other words, elected officials, including the president of the United States, only have that power that is given them by the people. And when elected officials take more power than what was given, there is an obligation for the people to do something to correct that abuse. Soap boxes are being worn out. Politicians are pounding their chests and rattling their sabers over Iraq. But the whole time, not one of them, from the president on down, ever states what victory is to them. What will be called success? How will it be achieved? What is the course? If success is to be complete peace, tranquility and stability throughout Iraq, then a passive war of attrition is doomed to failure. Either the United States has to go back into Iraq full force and take complete control and pacify the country, or we have to pull out completely and let the Iraqis fight it out for themselves. Any other alternative is going to mean hundreds or thousands more American troops being killed, in a futile endeavor. What are the people to do when the president refuses or is unable to answer the question “What is the course?” The answer is that it is their duty to throw off such government. Robert E. Ford Jr., Galloway Township - Atlantic City Press, January 8, 2007

Face truth

Neither the president nor the Congress will face the truth. They have created a situation in Iraq that we are now powerless to control. They have spent $350 billion destroying the infrastructure of that country and so disrupted the lives of its citizens that millions have gone into exile to escape the bloodshed and chaos the U.S. invasion has created. President Bush and Congress have ignited the smoldering fires of sectarian hatred that have erupted into civil war. We have suffered 3,000 U.S. casualties while policing this bitterly divided country, a mission that our troops were neither trained for nor authorized by Congress to undertake. Our continuing presence serves only to hinder the stabilizing of Iraq and ending this violence. That task must be left to the Iraqis. Peace can only come through negotiations conducted by the contending factions without outside interference. Hopefully, they will find leaders possessed of greater wisdom and foresight than those who led us into this disaster. We have needlessly sacrificed the lives of 3,000 young Americans. We must not allow this senseless bloodletting to continue while Bush and Congress seek ways to save face. We must demand that Congress exercise its constitutional duty and cut off funding for this failed adventure at once. Leonard Satz, Blackwood - Courier Post, Jamuary 6, 2007

Give Iraqis their pride back

Remember growing up how proud you were of your school? How proud you were of your school teams? Remember your feelings about the town where you were born? The town where you raised your children? And your feelings about the state and country you love? Do we think that the people of Iraq, or any other country for that matter, don't have the same pride in their land as we have in ours? Recently, Iraq's soccer team made the finals in a Middle East tournament. What we saw on television was reminiscent of our own sports events — the people were ecstatic that they had such a great team to cheer for. The sooner we redeploy out of Iraq, the sooner Iraqis can be Iraqis. Please, before they lose any more pride. It's all they have left. Nancy Woerner, Northfield - Atlantic City Press, January 6, 2007

Declare victory in Iraq and leave

When President Bush makes his State of the Union speech, he should declare a victory in Iraq and announce that we will begin withdrawing our troops in February. He can say that we removed the tyrant Sadam Hussein and supported a free election and the writing of a constitution. He can say that it is regrettable that sectarian violence is going on, but that this will need to be resolved by the Iraqis themselves through a political settlement. Finally, he can say that he believes that the withdrawal of our troops will encourage the parties to negotiate such a settlement. Harold A. Clark, Egg Harbor Township - Atlantic City Press, January 6, 2007

Downfall

Former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan has asked America not to "sacrifice its Democratic ideals while waging war against terrorism." To Annan's words I would add another caveat: We need to avoid transforming ourselves from David into Goliath. There is no question that America is the most powerful nation on this Earth. But if the Biblical story about David and Goliath teaches us anything, it shows us that strength, if used unwisely by us, can be the downfall of our great nation. Annan quoted President Truman when he said it is time for America "to serve and not dominate the peoples of the world." He might have added that it is time for America to truly serve itself by focusing its attention on its own difficult problems at hand. There is no question that its collective brawn is second to no other individual nation on this Earth. But it is time for America to begin using its collective brain to search for solutions for its own societal needs as well as those facing the rest of the world. Ian Wachstein, Collingswood - Courier Post, January 5, 2007

Attacks begun

As soon as the Iraq Study Group's report was released, the extreme right wing of the Republican Party began attacks on its members. Rush Limbaugh called them the "Iraq surrender group." Sean Hannity, calling for a complete victory at any cost, began his smear campaign by vilifying the group for not once using the word victory in its report. The group used the word "success" instead. Other neoconservatives used words just short of calling members of the group traitors. The Iraq Study Group is a bipartisan commission of good Americans, Republicans and Democrats, who are not extremists with a political agenda to sell, a legacy to define or an ax to grind. They are respected public servants commissioned to produce a plan to help extract us from the mess we have created in Iraq. The irony of all this is President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair, addressing the American people, saying "Iraq is in need of moderate, reasonable people to help bring the country together, control the security situation and provide a fair economic and political arrangement instead of the extremists or radicals that are tearing the country apart." You would think Bush would use the same approach in his plans for a new strategy in dealing with Iraq. Bob Dipipi, Mount Laurel - Courier Post, January 5, 2007

War isn't worth the cost

The price of admission to see a tyrant and a few of his henchmen executed: Thousands of U.S. soldiers killed or permanently maimed, hundreds of thousands of Iraqi citizens killed or maimed, trillions of dollars down the drain. It's not worth it. Edward Harshbarger, Galloway Township - Atlantic City Press, January 5, 2007

More troops are no answer

It has been said that those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. This can justifiably be said of the Bush administration's call for more troops in Iraq. What will more troops do now that more troops could not do earlier? This administration entered the conflict with what many knowledgeable people said were too few troops. Now, when the conflict is hopelessly lost, they decide it is time for more troops. History shows that more troops in a hopeless situation is no answer. The only thing that will be accomplished by bringing more troops to the situation is more casualties. Are there not enough people left in America who can remember Vietnam? Do we have to kill 58,000 American soldiers before we see the hopelessness of this total fiasco? Is President Bush's ego that important that we must sacrifice thousands of American soldiers and tens of thousand of Iraqi people? Wake up, America, and read your history books. Gary Williams, Bridgeton - Atlantic City Press, January 5, 2007

NJ STARS is a real star

The Dec. 25 article, “Scholarship program bumps enrollment at county colleges,” regarding NJ STARS scholarship students, was a reaffirmation of the benefits that come from encouraging and rewarding students for maintaining good grades in high school. Young people who obtain an education beyond high school, whether college or trade school, are assets to our communities, and their education is worth every penny our tax dollars contribute. Many parents find themselves hard-pressed to pay ever-increasing college expenses. But in addition to the NJ STARS program, a community-college student who graduates with an associate's degree and a 3.0 grade-point average is eligible for a NJ STARS II scholarship to help them transfer into any New Jersey public college or university as a junior. Having community-college graduates continue at our state colleges is another way to encourage them to stay in New Jersey; we've been losing far too many talented young people to other state schools. Congratulations to the NJ STARS programs and to their recipients. This is one state program that deserves the support of all of its citizens. Bettie J. Reina, Milmay - Atlantic City Press, January 1, 2007