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It's time to let the Iraqis take charge of Iraq

With the announcement that the top terrorist in Iraq has been killed, that the Iraqi Cabinet has been selected, and that 2,500 American soldiers have died, it is time to announce a strategy for turning over the operation of Iraq to the Iraqis within the year.

President Bush, with the advice and consent of Congress, should call a summit meeting to be held in Geneva, Switzerland (neutral territory), this summer. Invitees should include the heads of state of Iraq, Jordan, Iran, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Libya, Egypt and Syria.

The subject: The United States has taken the critical steps necessary to help Iraq overthrow Saddam Hussein, we have helped the Iraqis form a legitimate government and establish a secular court system, and we have shed our blood to help Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds. It is now time for us to turn over the country to Iraq. To do this, Iraq and the United States need the other states of the region to help.

The United States should also tell the invited nations in a strongly worded statement that they are expected to do everything in their power to assure success and that we will not look kindly on any party that drags its feet or tries to upend Iraq's future.

Call me naive, but sitting down with the people who control the region and letting them know that we believe their region is best handled by them could go a long way toward healing the wounds our entry into Iraq caused. And it would allow the United States to leave without "cutting and running" or letting "evil-doers dictate policy" as so many U.S. leaders describe any announced pullout.

Martin L. Daugherty, Seminole

Let's bring the troops home

Re: Debate over troop withdrawal.

Once again the Republican war-mongers have dragged out the Sept. 11 trump card and painted the Democrats as lacking the will to "stay the course" in Iraq. Hmmm, wasn't this the same rhetoric we heard during the 2004 presidential campaign? Well, I'm with the Democrats!

We kicked out a tyrant and installed a new government. Iraq has held elections, and it does have security forces. Let's bring the troops home. And by the way, I proudly served 20 years in the U.S. Army - let someone tell me I lack will, do not support the troops and am unpatriotic!

Richard Guitard, U.S. Army, retired, Tampa

Meaningless demagoguery

We reached a "milestone" this week - 2,500 American service members have been killed in Iraq. But while we contemplate this milestone, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is proposing a "limited amnesty" which is likely to include "pardons for those who had attacked only U.S. troops." This is while we have troops still on the ground in Iraq. Will this make our troops safer?

Meanwhile, our Congress spends 10 hours debating a nonbinding resolution declaring that the "United States will prevail in the global war on terror and the struggle to protect freedom from the terrorist adversary."

What was this about? Based on Majority Leader John Boehner's own "messaging memo," it was nothing more than posturing - trying to improve the GOP poll ratings by falling back on the terror card and by demanding that Democrats "prove" they are against terrorism. Stupid, time-wasting, meaningless demagoguery. Nothing came out of that debate that will save one American life.

How much of this so-called "Republican leadership" can we afford? How many more such desperate political stunts will we see before American deaths in Iraq reach the next "milestone"? Wake up, voters!

Wanda Schwerer, Belleair Beach

Secret Iraq visit is embarrassing

Re: Bush's Iraq trip.

It is indeed a lamentable situation when the president of the United States has to sneak into another country like a thief in the night because his war of volition there has made it perhaps the most dangerous place on earth.

This kind of political-stunt-driven, five-hour photo-op diplomacy does not benefit Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki or the fledgling government of Iraq. This is not brave or bold or statesmanly. This is embarrassing.

Hopefully, when we finally do arrange a state visit to a peaceful Iraq, it won't be George Bush in attendance.

Michael Blowers, Pinellas Park

A stunt, not a state visit

George W. Bush's recent trip to Iraq proves one thing. Iraq is not a sovereign country. I am no expert on diplomacy, but I seriously doubt international protocol allows a head of state to arrive unannounced in a sovereign country and demand a meeting with said country's prime minister. At any rate this stunt amounts to an expensive photo-op paid for by our tax dollars.

Clare Decator, Tampa

Just what was accomplished?

Bush sneaks out of the Divided States of America, sneaks into Iraq, putting our troops, Iraqi troops and citizens in even greater danger just for a photo-op?

How much do we spend on the Secret Service for someone who puts himself in such spectacularly stupid situations just for a picture? Exactly what mission was accomplished here?

Linda Reed, Tampa

Pomposity and president bashing

Re: Atrocities not just committed by the evil, Rosa Brooks, June 12.

It has to be painful for most combat veterans to sit still while a pompous academic tries to explain the reasons behind the alleged atrocity at Haditha in Iraq. Rosa Brooks' evaluation of the incident includes reference to a 1961 Yale behavior experiment in an attempt to add credibility to her views. Unfortunately, the experiment did not include rigorous combat training of the subjects or a combat environment (that's where people are shooting real bullets at each other). She also ignores a large stack of information from the flow of returning fighters who have been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress.

After banging around a few theories, Brooks reveals the real point of her treatise: to bash the president - "... let's not let the Bush administration off the hook" - while implying that the Bush gang rewarded "callousness and cruelty" among its fighting men.

We can only hope that ultimately the case will be judged solely on merit by competent combat experienced people and not on political correctness or wild-eyed political posturing.

Roger C. Laudati, Tampa

Davis' issue was a timely one

Re: Davis' Alberto comments get stormy response, June 15.

In an e-mail sent while a tropical storm was forming in the Gulf of Mexico, congressman Jim Davis of Tampa, a candidate for governor, stated that "there is no better time to discuss how to start fixing the hurricane insurance crisis facing Florida's policyholders," and announced his "Policyholder's Bill of Rights."

Gov. Jeb Bush responded by saying, "I hope candidate Davis, if he was to be privileged to serve in the job that I have ... would realize what a stupid statement that is. The day before a hurricane arriving on our shores is not the time to be talking about politics."

Well, actually, it was a tropical storm, not a hurricane, and Davis was not "talking about politics" as much as how politicians can act to protect the homes and well-being of Florida's citizens. But such hysterical hyperbole on the governor's part is very telling. Methinks he doth protest too much.

Might that be because, as his second four-year term winds down, Bush and his party have done little to nothing to protect Florida's citizens and head off what is now a serious crisis, leaving thousands of Floridians at risk of losing everything to the next hurricane?

Would that Bush's actions (or lack thereof) could be characterized as merely "stupid." At least he would have some excuse for kowtowing to the insurance companies while forcing Floridians to choose between outrageous insurance rates or outrageous risk.

John L. Perry, Tampa

Insurance fears need addressing

Re: Davis' Alberto comments get stormy response.

Gov. Jeb Bush said it was "stupid" for Rep. Jim Davis to talk about insurance coverage as Tropical Storm (not hurricane) Alberto approached Florida.

My biggest fear, and that of others too, is that if I have to make a claim after a storm, my insurance will be canceled. Any time is a good time to tackle the problem that is a major concern of all Floridians.

Frances Kerr, Tampa

Evacuation considerations

Re: Tragedy averted, but we must learn, June 15.

Your editorial fails to mention that if structural damage had occurred, and had a full-blown hurricane been on its way necessitating evacuation, this would have prevented the Howard Frankland Bridge from being used for evacuation from Pinellas County.

June Cullen, Palm Harbor

The arts pay off economically

Re: Museum attracts protesters from D.C., June 13.

I have no difficulty with the cause espoused by the Americans for Prosperity and other tax reform groups regarding the elimination of pork-barrel legislation. However, many of us in this area and elsewhere on Planet Earth see a bright distinction between pork-barrel projects and support for the arts, such as that received by the Salvador Dali Museum in St. Petersburg. The apparent inability of this group to make this distinction leads me wonder about its planet of origin.

Even if Americans for Prosperity cannot understand that supporting the arts is a cultural imperative in its own right, as an advocate of reform in budgetary legislation, its failure to appreciate the economic activity generated by the arts is appalling. A widely recognized study by economists at the Georgia Institute of Technology revealed that nonprofit arts organizations (museums, performing arts centers, orchestras, theater companies and others) generate $134-billion in economic activity every year. What should be of even greater significance to tax reform groups is that this amount includes more than $24-billion in federal, state and local tax revenues annually, compared to less than $3-billion spent by federal, state and local governments on support for the arts each year. In other words, for every dollar spent by government to support the arts, it receives eight dollars in return.

We are hardly in need of misguided, uninformed groups like Americans for Prosperity to protect us from governmental consequences such as these.

James McGee, Treasure Island

Look beyond race for solutions

Re: School desegregation.

The justices of the U.S. Supreme Court will soon be again looking into the issue of school desegregation. We should pray they don't lose sight of the original goal, which was to ensure equal educational opportunity regardless of race.

Yet here we are, 50 years later, stuck on the concept of integration and wondering why more equal opportunities have not resulted in more equal outcomes. Instead of more busing, maybe we need to look more closely at why neighborhood schools are failing neighborhood children, and turn that around.

If we base special programs upon race alone, we include and exclude individual opportunity based on race. Then, who will determine our racial status? Can we choose our race or will it be chosen for us? Can we claim to be Anglo if one grandparent was African-American? Will the government instead label us as black?

Have we as a society forgotten what it meant to be an octoroon, and how that limited opportunities in life? Have we forgotten the treatment of Jews in World War II Europe who were labeled a race and assigned to "special programs"?

Instead of race, maybe we finally need to look more closely at the individual and what holds him or her back from fully participating in the American dream. So-called solutions based on race only serve to demean us all as human beings.

Fred Jacobsen, Apollo Beach

Postmark possibilities

Re: Keep our postmark, St. Petersburg says, June 15.

As a longtime Tampa resident, I share St. Petersburg residents' and officials' concern over a Postal Service proposal to reroute that city's mail to Tampa and postmark it "Tampa" before it heads for an ultimate destination.

When tiny communities all the way from White River Junction, Vt., to our Everglades City rate their own postmark, it is absurd even to think of depriving one of Florida's most prestigious and nationally known cities of postal identity.

One simple solution to the Postal Service's problem might be to start using a Tampa-St. Petersburg postmark for all mail emanating from these sister cities, inseparably joined at the hip by their history and geography.

Doing so could give a nudge to the long-suffering notion we are all fellow citizens of a single wonderful conglomeration around Tampa Bay and should be pulling together, not engaging in tugs-of-war.

Jeff Corydon, Tampa

Have it both ways

Re: St. Petersburg's postmark.

There is a win-win situation in this little controversy. The facer-cancelers that the post office uses have heads that can be changed, such as the date, AM or PM and also the city that it represents. The mail that is taken to Tampa for cancellation and distribution could be kept together on the dock, and the head on the facer-canceler could be changed just before they run the St. Petersburg mail. The little time it would take to change the heads on the machines shouldn't make a big difference in the cost of this project. This is from an old postal worker who handled that type of job.

Ren Whitney, St. Petersburg

Boost education aid and tuition

Much has been said or written recently about the fact that tuition levels at Florida public universities are among the lowest in the nation. Moreover, Florida ranks very low among all states (actually 39th nationally) in level of per capita financial support for higher education.

Given these circumstances, there is obvious need for better state funding of our universities, as well as a strong rationale for increasing student tuition.

However, along with such increases in tuition there must also be greater levels of financial support for students from low-income families who could not attend a university without such assistance.

Recent information in the Chronicle of Higher Education indicates a decided imbalance in financial assistance for university students in Florida. In 2004-05, Florida ranked second in the nation (behind only Georgia) in non-need financial aid, but ranked only 13th nationally in need-based assistance. This information strongly argues for higher levels of need-based financial assistance in our state universities. This is true today, and the need would greatly increase if Florida universities were to substantially increase tuition to levels which are justified and needed.

E. T. York, chancellor emeritus, State University System of Florida, Gainesville

Appreciate America's diversity

Re: Being American and speaking English.

Recently you have published letters from writers irate about people who live in this country but don't speak English (or prefer to speak another language). Well, this is Florida and if these writers consider themselves such good Americans, they should brush up on a bit of basic American history. Remember Ponce de Leon? Hernando de Soto? English was hardly the first European language spoken around here. (Not to mention all those who were here before any new languages were imported from across the Atlantic, or those Americans whose non-English-speaking ancestors were brought here unwillingly from Africa).

Be proud to live in America, the greatest multicultural nation on Earth. And if you're too lazy to push a simple language-selection button on an ATM or turn the page in an instruction manual, let alone to appreciate the diversity of our country ... for heaven's sake, don't brag about it!

Roxanne Thorn, Riverview

Learn English one-on-one

Re: Many are handicapped by age, letter, June 14.

Age need not be a deterrent to learning English. The learning method is what may discourage individuals from learning. Attending a one-on-one session with a tutor who has been trained to be patient, sensitive, flexible and has a strong desire to teach English has proved to be very successful as opposed to attending classes containing several people. Some individuals are quicker to learn than others. Some are embarrassed in front of a group but would relate better in a one-on-one environment.

If anyone knows someone who wants to learn English in a one-on-one session, I suggest you contact the Literacy Council of Upper Pinellas, of Palm Harbor or St. Petersburg. Contact the local library for telephone numbers.

Vicki Vinour, president, Literacy Council of Upper Pinellas, Dunedin

[Last modified June 17, 2006, 05:47:45]