Letters

Untruth & Consequences

"The next time Bush says we have to take military action because a country is threatening our security, how can we believe him?" JERRY HARRIS Houston, Texas

Regardless of whether the CIA approved George W. Bush's State of the Union message before it was delivered [IRAQ: THE EVIDENCE, July 21], the fact remains that the President presented a piece of false evidence in support of the Administration's case for going to war with Iraq. The CIA HAD warned members of the President's staff that the intelligence was not good enough to make the flat statement that Saddam Hussein had "sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa." Even though Bush cited the British government as the source in his statement, he conveyed a falsehood. It was Bush, not the CIA, who deceived Americans; it is he and his Administration that must be held accountable. GREG COX Wheaton, Ill.

Those pernicious 16 words in the State of the Union speech will not topple the Bush presidency because the cumulative case for ousting Saddam was cogent, obvious and urgent. Arguments over such a trivial statement do not warrant this much hand wringing. KEVIN BARKER Bristow, Va.

One man is ultimately responsible for declaring war on Iraq: George W. Bush. The scapegoating of CIA Director George Tenet for the false uranium intelligence report does not conceal the fact that Bush, acting on flawed intelligence, launched a war against a sovereign nation not imminently threatening the U.S. Congress should be held accountable as well. Here's the scorecard to date on Iraq: no uranium, no weapons of mass destruction and no end to the loss of American life, just an ever growing cache of lies and excuses. DAN NACE St. Louis, Mo.

There is little justification for the partisan debate over whether there was sufficient evidence to go to war with Iraq. The pre-emptive strike was clearly in the U.S.'s national interest. It was an aggressive warning to terrorist-sponsoring states--especially Iran, Syria and North Korea--that there will be severe consequences for their dangerous behavior. The U.S. also provided enhanced protection to Israel, the only true democracy in the Middle East, and sent a strong message to Syria and the Palestinians that there is no alternative to peace. The U.S. assured itself of a favorable position on the availability of Middle East oil and freed the Iraqi people from a tyrant. REX SHANNON Santa Ana, Calif.

Apparently it was worse for a President to lie to the American people about having sex with an intern than it was for a President to lie to the American people, justifying a war on the basis of forged documents about uranium products. One lie led to impeachment; I am afraid the other lie will lead to re-election. CAROLYN MAKI Midlothian, Va.

There will always be a price to pay for freedom and security, and some mistakes will be made, even when intelligence is received from reliable sources. But the fact is that the Iraqi people, enslaved for 30 years by Saddam's crushing and terrifying government, can now begin to rebuild their lives. And we are no longer threatened by Iraq's possible use of horrific weapons. BARRETT C. CRANER Pleasanton, Calif.

The U.S. did not go to war with Iraq solely because of Saddam's possible attempts to purchase uranium. The U.S. argued that Saddam's government possessed a variety of weapons of mass destruction and had a history of aggression. Iraq's war against Iran, the occupation of Kuwait and missile attacks on Israel in Gulf War I showed that Saddam's Iraq was a terrible danger. IAN REILLY New York City

Bush's misstatement that Iraq attempted to purchase uranium was yet another example of a "shoot first, ask questions later" mentality. KEN RAY Orange, Calif.

Seven Days, Seven Deaths

Thank you for the article "A Soldier's Life," about seven U.S. servicemen [IRAQ: THE CASUALTIES, July 21]. I found it incredibly moving. What especially struck me was that five of those you profiled were my age, give or take a year. Living in a "college bubble" and being focused on campus life makes it very easy to forget that there are people my age serving on the other side of the world under enemy fire and far away from those they love. JOHN J. WALLBILLICH Ann Arbor, Mich.

Thank you for your profiles of the soldiers who died. Please continue putting a face on the numbers. These young men and women deserve to be remembered, and the liars who put them in Iraq need to be held accountable. TONI BOUTWELL Myrtle Beach, S.C.

Running on Empty?

The one encouraging note in Donald L. Barlett and James B. Steele's report on the U.S.'s impending fuel crunch was the success of Jimmy Carter's effort to reduce oil consumption, something that is clearly not a goal of the oilmen in the Bush Administration [SPECIAL REPORT, July 21]. The obvious solution to the energy crisis, though not the one Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney want to see, is conservation, mandated improvement of energy efficiency and development of renewable sources of energy. Pretty simple--unless your primary goal is increased profits for oil companies. CHARLENE M. WOODCOCK Berkeley, Calif.

Barlett and Steele documented decades of U.S. government policies that only made our energy problems worse, and yet their solution is for Washington to adopt a long-term "thoughtful energy policy." Let's not continue to do what doesn't work. A better approach is to let individuals and organizations do what makes sense to them and let America's energy policy come from the bottom up. The government should fund basic research but not try to promote specific types of new technologies. When they are ready for commercialization, they will come to market. Our goal should be not to attain energy self-sufficiency but to avoid relying too much on any one fuel or region. As long as the government doesn't get in the way, we will be O.K. for the foreseeable future. JOHN ZIMMERMAN Hopkinton, N.H.

America in its fuel crisis is like a 300-lb. man who eats four meals a day at McDonald's. Policymakers are deliberating over which exercise is the best path to weight loss. Instead, Americans should go on a diet of reduced energy consumption. We need to dramatically change our habits. JULIAN LAWSON New York City

Operational Ethics

Doctors attempted to separate the conjoined Bijani twins to free them from lifelong attachment, and Charles Krauthammer attempted, in his criticism of physician-assisted suicide, to split similarly inseparable moral hairs [ESSAY, July 21]. The Bijani twins, Krauthammer wrote, "were not seeking self-destruction; they were seeking liberation. And they were trying to undo a form of mutilation imposed on them by nature." If the twins were willing to die rather than continue living attached to each other, that's hardly different from people who prefer death to being trapped in a diseased or dysfunctional body. There are those who do not believe that death is oblivion. PATRICK IVERS Laramie, Wyo.

The doctors should not have operated on the Bijani twins precisely because of the limits offered by Krauthammer: "no assistance in self-destruction" and "no assistance in mutilation." No doubt the Bijani twins suffered from the unity imposed upon them by nature, which was certainly cruel, but the physicians needed to recognize that this "error of nature" was, in itself, a perfectly functioning human system. In operating on them, the doctors violated the fundamental tenet of the Hippocratic oath. MICHAEL VALENTI Anaheim, Calif.

Stressed or Just Spoiled?

"Spa Kids" reported that "massages and facials are now in vogue with the younger set" and that kids are getting glitter, manicures and henna tattoos [LIVING, July 21]. But the U.S. Census Bureau states that 16.3% of American children live in poverty. The teens patronizing day spas would be far better off if they devoted their time to helping their less fortunate peers. Maybe then they would realize that by comparison, they have little enough to be stressed over. And perhaps it would provide some perspective for their parents too. PATRICIA J. WILLIAMS Cary, N.C.

We have the ultimate spa for kids right here in our town. It features 100% natural mud treatments, floral and herbal aromatherapy and even a special oxygen-enhanced relaxation area. The name of this secret, exclusive retreat for the junior set? Our backyard. AMANDA UHRY Ridgefield, Conn.