Iraq is no Vietnam, and Bush is no William H. Taft

Iraq is no Vietnam, and Bush is no William H. Taft
EDITOR:
In his June 10 column, Cal Thomas says that the president should continue reminding the public that victory in Iraq will not be easy, just as success in World War II was not easy. As I remember, in 2003, George Bush was standing on a carrier deck, dressed in a flight suit, loudly proclaiming that the mission was accomplished. He was joined in this cry of triumph by many in the media, including certain newspaper editorial writers. Now President Bush and those columnists are exercising a very strong 20/20 hindsight.
That "victory" has turned into a running sore. That sore is much more similar to the Philippine insurgency at the beginning of the 20th century than it is to Vietnam. Unfortunately, there is no one of the caliber of William Howard Taft around to bail us out.
Mr. Thomas also was using a rather dubious analogy in that statement. I am old enough to remember World War II. I remember reading the headlines about the invasion of Normandy, the prayers for our troops, and following the maps of their progress in the newspapers. Those were difficult times, and victory was not easy. But when it was attained, it was over. Not only that, our defeated enemies cooperated in our efforts to rebuild their countries.
There is a ploy utilized by a certain type of leader. In an effort to gain cheap glory for himself, he promotes a war on a flimsy pretext against a weak and convenient enemy. A war that can be hard to lose, would stir up patriotic fervor, and require sacrifices for the good and security of the country. That fits Bush's behavior in October 2002. What he said sounded convincing on the surface, but there was no valid documentation of any kind. Today, the documentation and the weapons of mass destruction alleged by those mysterious documents, despite increasingly frenzied searches, have not yet surfaced.
The efforts to find those weapons, and to seek out ties to the terrorist organizations have led to the disgusting spectacle of poorly trained troops engaging in secret cruelties against these "enemies of the state." Then when they are found out, the leaders who had to have condoned that behavior deny knowledge of them, even though others have apprised those leaders of what was happening. Then columnists, such as Mr. Thomas and others, who think the current administration can do no wrong, come rallying with lame excuses for that treatment.
All I can think of is this quotation. "As soon as men decide that all means are permitted to fight an evil, then their good becomes indistinguishable from the evil they set out to destroy," (Christopher Dawson, "The Judgment of Nations.")
JEROME K. STEPHENS
Warren
Here are a few suggestionsfor new county dog warden
EDITOR:
I've been reading articles in The Vindicator that the current dog warden is retiring. I also read that they are in the process of replacing her. With the changes taking place at the pound, I would hope the new warden will make some changes on his or her own.
It's a shame how many healthy animals are killed because there is nowhere for them to go. And they don't get much time at the pound either.
I have a few suggestions. First, how is anyone who works a full-time job able to adopt from our pound? The viewing hours are at 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays, and there are no weekend hours. Most people work 9 to 5 and can't take a day off to look for a new family pet. Also many would rather adopt on weekends so they can help their new buddy to adapt to their new environment.
It would be great to see our new warden open a couple nights a week and maybe every other Saturday. It's not much, but it's a start. Maybe this tiny step will cut down on how many animals are destroyed for no other reason than human ignorance.
ARLIA SLAINA
Youngstown