Saddam Hussein

President Bush’s decision to implement a no-fly-over zone for the Iraqi air force in southern Iraq (Aug. 27) is nothing more than a purely political decision. His present justification for our air cover for Iraqi Shiites should have been done in the spring of 1991, following the cessation of our ground war in Desert Storm.

Iraq’s Republican Guard brutally repressed the Shiites rebellion against Baghdad, but this Administration did not raise a finger in protest. For the past 16 months, Shiites have been harshly suppressed, including artillery bombardment as well as reports of the use of chemical weapons in the marshlands near Basra. Where was Bush all this time?

MARK SILVERMAN, Marina del Rey