Justification for Iraq War Shifts to Intent

Re “CIA Chief Saw No Imminent Threat in Iraq,” Feb. 6: President Bush said in a speech that Saddam Hussein’s intent to acquire weapons of mass destruction was sufficient grounds for the attack on Iraq. In his words, the justification for the war has morphed from weapons of mass destruction to programs of mass destruction to intentions of mass destruction.

While Bush plays with our minds by employing semantic tricks, U.S. soldiers continue to die every day. Word games will not hide the fact that it was an unnecessary and costly war that, along with his tax cuts, has almost bankrupted the nation.

H. John Chalmers

Branscomb, Calif.

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Am I the only one who won’t be surprised if a stockpile of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction is suddenly “discovered” a month or so before America’s presidential election?

R.W. Ivler

Sierra Madre

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One bit of specific intelligence that gets little discussion: Iraq’s missiles. Their range exceeded the U.N. mandate, they could be rigged to carry a variety of weapons of mass destruction and they could reach Israel. In the ‘90s, Hussein broadly hinted that he had fuel-air bombs. These have nearly the destructive power of nukes and do not require high-tech development.

In life, executive decisions are never made based on perfect information. (If information is perfect, there’s no need for a decision.) Seems to me that the net effect for the zigzagging Democratic presidential candidates should be to either (a) shut up or (b) flatly assert that there were ulterior motives (e.g., money) for starting the war with Iraq.

Carl Hokanson

Sherman Oaks

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Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld’s arguments (Feb. 5) suggesting that weapons of mass destruction may have been transferred to a third country, hidden in Iraq or destroyed by the Iraqis before the war started exemplify this administration’s fantasy-prone thinking. Think about it. A hated enemy threatens to invade your borders with the expressed intention of overthrowing your government. What’s your first move? Hide the weapons. Ship them away. Destroy them. Hmm ... where does “use them” fit into that scenario?

James Underdown

Los Angeles