Winning Hearts in Iraq; Tracking Terrorists - Los Angeles Times
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Winning Hearts in Iraq; Tracking Terrorists

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“From Allied to Alienated†(April 28), describing the changes in the views of Ayatollah Sayed Mortada al-Qazwini, needs a few addenda. It is Iraqis who should pick up their trash; it is Iraqis who are responsible for the sabotage of the electric power system and the oil pipelines, which then results in shortages of electricity and long gas lines; it is Iraqis who shoot and bomb our troops -- who then respond in not too kind a manner. The ayatollah would show true wisdom if he would concentrate his efforts on persuading the Iraqis to work on building their own country rather than complaining about the U.S.

I was in Germany at the end of World War II. The Germans worked on rebuilding their country from damage far greater than that in Iraq, grateful for whatever help was provided by the U.S. The Iraqis seem to expect a handout while also biting the hand that is trying to help them.

George Paulikas

Palos Verdes Estates

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Doesn’t Al-Qazwini realize the religious freedoms he enjoyed here in the U.S. are a direct result of our secular government? One would hope he would see the folly of an Iraqi government based on Islamic law (his version of Islam, that is). We may just have to stay in Iraq until a new, more enlightened generation replaces this old, ignorant one.

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Dale Kutzera

Los Angeles

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Re “Tip Sent 108 Thai Rebels to Deaths,†April 28: Just to restore some perspective lost by the mainstream media, let me say that Spain and Thailand have done more in recent weeks to defeat world terrorism than we have in Iraq; this, despite all of our precious patriots whom President Bush has martyred there. On April 3, Spain found Sarhane Ben Abdelmajid Fakhet, a Tunisian accused of spearheading the March 11 Madrid attacks, for whom an international warrant had been issued. And on April 28, in Thailand’s southern provinces, 108 members of an armed Islamic group were killed as they launched simultaneous predawn attacks on police bases and checkpoints.

In both instances, classic internal police work developed the actionable intelligence needed to strike effective blows against terrorist cells. Thus, it is seen that the Clinton anti-terrorist approach, contemptuously referred to as “swatting flies†by national security advisor Condoleezza Rice before the 9/11 commission, is validated over the Bush emphasis on antiballistic missiles and unilateral, unprovoked invasions of “rogue nations.â€

Ralph Wann Rawles

Santa Barbara

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The war in Iraq must continue until everything is fixed. Although I am not a fan of President Bush, I do support his efforts to make Iraq a free nation. They have taken Saddam Hussein out of power, and things are already beginning to become better. There are no longer mass graves and people scared to say anything bad about Saddam. Even though there are still tensions there, the people of Iraq need to understand that things are going to be a lot better now, without Saddam.

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Ryan Schreiner

West Hills

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Our American troops should be called home from Iraq immediately. Our reasons for the war were wrong. The hatred by the Muslim world against the U.S. will never be lessened until we change our foreign policy favoring Israel over the Palestinians. The civil war in Iraq, which will occur whether or not our troops remain, could be tempered by a multilateral Marshall-type Plan for the Mideast, with the U.S. paying its fair share of damages and reconstruction.

Alice Swan

Laguna Woods

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I note that Maj. James Joseph Clearfield, a battalion operations officer with the Marines outside of Fallouja, is quoted as saying, “We came here to start a soccer league. Instead, they are forcing us to topple mosques†(April 27).

No wonder the Iraqis are putting up such a fierce resistance. With all due respect to all our soccer moms -- what do we Americans know about soccer?

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Kenneth Taylor

Los Angeles

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