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Truth became a casualty before the war even began

Re: The American people have been had, by Philip Gailey, June 12.

"In war, the first casualty is truth." Philip Gailey's column makes it abundantly clear that, as to the war in Iraq, truth died before the conflict began.

It has taken three years for the majority of the American people to understand this. Now, the majority has lost confidence in President Bush's decision, his stated motives and the necessity for the war in the first place.

We must deal with the fact that disposing of Saddam Hussein has not made us more safe from terrorist attack. We must deal with the fact that our president and his administration deceived us. Now we want our troops to come home and we want our president to tell us the truth.

We are misled by the media

Re: The American people have been had.

Philip Gailey is right about the American people being had, but I don't think it's the Bush administration that did it. The liberal media - including the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the broadcast network news and to some extent the St. Petersburg Times - are the ones misleading the American public. Their goal is to discredit the Bush presidency even if it means that our efforts in the Middle East fail.

I believe, as does President Bush, that the only long-term solution to ending the threat of terror is to change the culture in the Middle East. I know Saddam Hussein had the capability to produce weapons of mass destruction and have no doubt he would have given these weapons to terrorists. Should we have waited until he had done so?

Liberal bias in the media? Abuses of prisoners at Abu Ghraib by a handful of U.S. soldiers is above-the-fold headlines for weeks. A mass grave uncovered in Iraq? Well, maybe a paragraph on Page 6. Beheadings of innocent civilians by terrorist cells was news of note for a few days. Several cases of "improper handling of the Koran?" That becomes the lead news item on the networks for weeks.

Our media do everything they can to magnify stories that reflect negatively on our country. They do it better and more often than Al-Jazeera. Is it any wonder that public opinion is shifting on the war in Iraq?

Bush deceived the majority

The headline on Philip Gailey's June 12 column was The American people have been had. I would correct that by saying "A little over half of the American people were had by Bush." Remember the people who were opposed to the war from the beginning who voted for John Kerry? All along we have known what the outcome of this war would be (not to mention the damaging tax and environmental policies under Bush), and with all our protesting and going door to door, the majority didn't listen.

This is a reminder that we are still out here, and if those who voted for Bush are just catching up, it's too little, too late. Especially for those whose sons and daughters are serving in Iraq. But those with family serving probably voted for Bush to show support for loved ones. That's ironic now, when Bush keeps them in harm's way.

Making American look bad

Re: The American people have been had.

Philip Gailey is absolutely right, the American people have been had! Only, they have been had by editorialists and reporters who continue to report news over and over again that looks bad for America and therefore President Bush. Now you report, as fact, what a source from another country pretends to know about the inner workings of our government? Then you say it isn't getting coverage because of the other anti-American stories that you have repeated over and over.

Maybe it isn't getting coverage because even most of the Bush-haters realize how absurd this little "revelation" is. I look forward to another of your apologies once more information comes out.

Keep us informed

In Philip Gailey's June 12 column he tells us we have been had. Where was the Times' coverage of this important information? All I found in a search of your archives was an oblique reference on June 3 buried in the B section on Page 3 about a protest in front of WTVT. The subject represents impeachable offenses for George Bush and Dick Cheney. Inform us! That is your job.

Press needs to get on the ball

We've been had, or have we? Three books were written, each telling us that George W. Bush and his administration were planning to attack Iraq before 9/11. Very little attention was given to this information. My question has always been: Where were the investigative reporters?

And in my opinion, if the media had been as vocal as they should have been, had they been reporting constantly that the Bush people were manufacturing data, we would, I hope, not have been "had" as Philip Gailey now says.

Do we have to wait until another country comes up with the information that says our president was lying to us before we believe it? We need our press to get on the ball. Had the press been more persistent in its reporting, maybe, Congress would not have gone along with Bush's war.

Signs of desperation

Re: The American people have been had.

Philip Gailey's column shows just how desperate he is to bring the president down.

If the Downing Street memo were really that big a deal as he and others have said, then every news source across the country would have it on its cover, and the major networks and cable news networks would be going full force.

But there is nothing there that wasn't known before. Sure, Bush wanted to remove Saddam Hussein, but as to the U.S. intelligence "being fixed," Gailey has taken that out of context to make it seem as if it was done on purpose.

Thankfully, we have the Internet and other media sources to get to the truth, and don't have to listen to someone who has an agenda.

How many more must die?

Re: The American people have been had by Philip Gailey; Terror conviction claims scrutinized; and Largest prosecution has no link to terror.

If one reads these three June 12 articles along with British intelligence reports that have recently come to light and still cannot surmise that this administration is devious, secretive and totally dishonest regarding the war in Iraq and terrorism, then one must be oblivious to our world.

What is happening today brings back visions of President Richard Nixon's antics and the Vietnam War, which we were sure to win! In case you weren't around then or can't remember, Nixon left office in disgrace and the Vietnam War was lost at a cost of more than 50,000 American lives.

How many more young men and women must forfeit their careers and their lives for this "politicians war" in Iraq?

[Last modified June 18, 2005, 01:36:03]