President Bush to Request $87 Billion More for Iraq

In his national address on Sunday evening, President Bush made references to “Sept. 11,” “Afghanistan” and “terror” and linked these events to Iraq. He is implying that Iraq was somehow connected to the events of 9/11 and the subsequent U.S. response against Al Qaeda and other militant Islamic fundamentalists.

The president’s argument is incorrect. Saddam Hussein’s regime had no link to Al Qaeda and had no role in 9/11. Iraq did not pose an imminent threat to the U.S., as evidenced by the fact that no weapons of mass destruction have been found or are likely to be found. Without the alleged Iraq-terror connection, the president’s case for war in Iraq collapses like a house of cards. This administration is incapable of admitting mistakes or telling the truth and should not be believed.

Ravi Mahalingam

Monrovia

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I heard the president’s speech about the situation in the Middle East. I thought about the timing of the speech, a few days before the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Our actions in Afghanistan and Iraq have lost us any sympathy we had from other countries after 9/11, and all the babbling about freedom and terrorism is not going to get it back. No one believes it anymore.

Frances E. Westerfield

Compton

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Bush’s war in Iraq has cost hundreds of lives and now will cost hundreds of billions in taxpayer dollars. For what? No weapons of mass destruction, never any imminent threat to the U.S. and now, a breeding ground of lawlessness and terrorism. Rather than make us safer, this war has created more terrorism in Iraq and has shifted the attention off those who actually were behind 9/11: Al Qaeda. And the Taliban are regrouping in Afghanistan (Sept. 8).

Now Bush says it’s the United Nations’ responsibility to fix the mess he and his administration created. When will this irresponsibility, hubris and abuse of power end?

Jerry Phelps

La Jolla

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Bush said he would ask Congress for $87 billion for the next fiscal year to pay for military deployment and reconstruction in Iraq and Afghanistan. To put Bush’s $87-billion request in perspective, below are estimated amounts of federal spending in 2002 for a few categories that Bush’s new request exceeds:

Department of Education, $45.2 billion; Department of Energy, $17.2 billion; Housing and Urban Development, $34.8 billion; Transportation, $54.9 billion; Environmental Protection Agency, $7.6 billion; Department of Labor, $42 billion.

Not only is Bush’s foreign policy a strategic fiasco, it’s also an economic one.

Eric Pals

Sherman Oaks

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“King/Drew Fights To Save Its Residency Program” (Sept. 7). “Bush to Seek $87 Billion for Effort In Iraq” (Sept. 8). Need I say more?

Joanna Drury

Encino

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How about starting a giant pool where everyone guesses how much of the $87 billion will go to Halliburton?

David Wilson

Canoga Park