U.N. Inspection of Iraqi Records

One can perhaps understand President Bush’s description of Saddam Hussein as “the bully, the dictator, the brutal merchant of death” (“U.N.-Iraq Accord Ends Threat of Allied Strike,” July 27) as the desperate wheezing of an aging politico who sees his career winking out; nevertheless, a couple of things should be kept in mind:

(1) The installation, arming, and ongoing support of this “merchant of death” is largely due to the persistent efforts of the Reagan-Bush administrations, as The Times and many others have extensively reported. Far from being a “miscalculation,” as Bush spin doctors are now characterizing it, Bush’s enthusiastic support for the bloody Saddam regime was typical of our government, which has consistently installed and funded brutal dictatorships around the world.

(2) According to then-Secretary of the Navy Lehman, U.S. forces killed approximately 200,000 Iraqis during the Gulf action. Perhaps that many again have died as a result of famine and epidemic attributable to Iraq’s demolished infrastructure and the (ongoing) allied blockade. Although roughly 2,000 deaths resulted from Saddam’s invasion of Kuwait, Bush caused about 100 to 200 people to die for every one killed by Saddam Hussein. None of those killed had any role in formulating the policy of either government.

FREDRICA SACKETT

San Diego