Get out versus stay the course

Re “Americans won’t let Democrats lose Iraq,� Opinion, Oct. 28

David Gelernter’s arguments have nothing to do with the real problem, which is politicians getting us into wars that have no basis in anything intelligent. I may not reflect everyone’s opinion, but I would have been as gung-ho as the most conservative Republican for going to war against terror. Osama bin Laden and his followers would be dead or in prison by now. But what have we got instead? A mess that, like Vietnam, seems to divide the country. But in reality I think most Americans would back the right thing -- the thing that escapes the White House and the Pentagon. The thing that we have no leadership for at all -- the right thing.

DOROTHY WALKER

Calabasas

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Please don’t cry about our 2,000 American deaths in Iraq. We made the choice to start a war there, rightly or wrongly. The president has said we wouldn’t run as we did in Vietnam. We invaded and messed up the lives of the Iraqi people, so we can’t irresponsibly leave and let the country blow up in a civil war. The lesson of Vietnam is that we should not quit before the job is done, otherwise the job next time will be a lot tougher. If we went to war because of lies, we should then punish the ones who lied, not the Iraqi people.

KHUONG TRAN

Artesia

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I’m surprised that The Times printed such a truthful opinion on the Vietnam versus Iraq situation. I admire Gelernter for writing so clear and concise an expose of the left liberal mind.

VINCENT A. CIPRIOTTI

Tarzana