Impatience with the Iraq war

Re “Reid opens new war front,” April 2

I have had enough of President Bush accusing Congress of refusing to fund the troops. Congress has approved the funds. It’s just that Bush is unhappy with the accountability that’s attached to it. If Bush vetoes the bill, he will be the one denying money to the troops, as well as ignoring the will of the majority of Americans who don’t want to see this train wreck go on indefinitely. I believe Congress is acting responsibly and doing what the people want.

ALISON STEWARD

Downey

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Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s latest antiwar bill, even if it survived a Bush veto, would continue throwing away American lives in Iraq for another 12 months. If Democrats had the courage of their alleged antiwar convictions, they would refuse to bring any new war-funding legislation to a vote and simply let the current funds run out. That is the only “veto-proof” way to end the war. It is also the fastest way to bring the troops home.

JAMES DAWSON

Woodland Hills

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When Vice President Dick Cheney makes a comment like “You cannot win a war if you tell the enemy when you’re going to quit,” he is revealing something. All of our original enemies in Iraq have been captured or killed, and there is currently a civil war in Iraq, so who is the enemy Cheney refers to? The enemy must be the majority of Americans and the rest of the world, who would like to know exactly how much longer U.S. troops will be in Iraq.

The sooner Cheney loses the war, the sooner we all win.

LAWRENCE GAUGHAN

Hollywood

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Re “A general’s view of Iraq,” Opinion, April 3

Since before the first week of the conflict, when then-Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld uttered those famous words, “Six days, six weeks. I doubt six months,” every supporter of the war has said: “Be patient and wait another three to six months for progress. That’s all we need, six more months.” How many times are we expected to buy this? I say, six months and we go home. Five years, nearly 3,300 dead U.S. soldiers and hundreds of billions of dollars is enough.

DAVID SCALETTA

Beverly Hills

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I just read Gen. Barry R. McCaffrey’s comments advising Americans to give the military one more chance to “succeed” in Iraq. I have also heard Bush use the same word. Just what does “succeed” mean?

EARLENE BUSCH

Longmont, Colo.