Bush by the numbers

Re “Bush’s Ratings Sink, but Trust Remains,” Jan. 27

The 9/11 attacks happened on President Bush’s watch. Bush invaded Afghanistan supposedly to get rid of Al Qaeda and capture or kill Osama bin Laden. Bush failed because he and his cohorts of the Greedy Oil Party decided to take Iraq’s oil instead of finishing the job in Afghanistan.

The results? Tens of thousands of innocent Iraqis dead and hundreds of thousands injured, thousands of our own dead and tens of thousands injured, hundreds of millions of people newly turned against us, and hundreds of billions of dollars of our national wealth gone.

Four-plus years after 9/11, Al Qaeda still attacks us, Bin Laden is still free and the U.S.-Mexican border is so wide open that I can drive a truck across it in broad daylight.

The bipartisan 9/11 commission gave the president a D on his efforts overall to protect us. So who are these 45% who “trust Bush to protect the nation against terrorism”?

KIM IANNONE

West Hills

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For the 40% of Americans who think the U.S. should maintain a significant number of troops in Iraq for “as long as it takes,” and the 57% who “favor military intervention if Iran’s Islamic government pursues a program that could enable it to build nuclear arms,” I would remind them of the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1989 after a 10-year war in Afghanistan, not to mention our world-class debt and image problem.

ERIN SCARLETT

Oceanside

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The latest Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg Poll reports that a majority of Americans express the opinion that Republicans are stronger on defense issues than Democrats. To those who hold that view, I would suggest that apparently the spin is mightier than the sword. Who was the last Republican president to lead this country in the successful prosecution of a major conflict? The correct answer is Abraham Lincoln.

PHILLIP GOLD

Westlake Village

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As if we needed any further evidence after George Bush’s election in 2004, the 57% who favor war against Iran again reveals the nation is awash in fools.

RAY MCKOWN

Los Angeles