An echo of President Bush

Re “For McCain, the war is the only real issue,” April 11

So Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) now believes that many mistakes were made about Iraq and that the war has been waged poorly but now that we’re there, we have no choice but to “win” -- or else the terrorists of the world will think we’re weak and be encouraged to attack us at home. This all sounds almost like an echo of President Bush; I thought and hoped that this presidential election would be a departure.

Let’s say McCain is right, that we must “win” in Iraq. How about we find out who and what causes the suicidal insurgents to blow up themselves, their countrymen and our troops, and see whether there are actions of any kind that could be taken by the U.S. -- other than more troops and their blood -- that would address and possibly answer the insurgents’ issues, such as, “Is there anything we can do to make you stop?”

JIM GOULD

Burbank