It doesn't seem possible that Iraqis are better off today

In "Why Our Troops Must Stay in Iraq" (Dec. 4 Forum piece, reprinted from The Wall Street Journal), Sen. Joseph Lieberman tells us "real progress" is being made there. He says "progress is visible and practical" from what he has seen over the past 17 months and four trips to Iraq.

But U.S. Rep. John Murtha tells us a different story ("Murtha Wants Troops Pulled Out Now," Nov. 18). Rep. Murtha says, "We have become a catalyst for violence" in Iraq and should bring our troops home.

Copying a paragraph from the PG story: "In his announcement, Mr. Murtha said he had weighed the risks of an overstretched military, an 'out of control' deficit and the situation on the ground in Iraq, which he believes is getting worse with each day. He noted only half of the $18 billion Congress allocated for Iraq's reconstruction has been spent and that unemployment in Iraq is above 40 percent. His many visits to Iraq, he said, had convinced him that Iraqis want U.S. soldiers to leave."

So both of these gentlemen have recently visited Iraq several times personally and come up with very different perspectives. Why is that?

Well, our daily newscasts do not seem to confirm Sen. Lieberman's perspective. And what about those Iraqi polls he proudly proclaims? Sen. Lieberman says, "Two-thirds [of Iraqis] say they are better off than they were under Saddam, and a resounding 82 percent are confident their lives in Iraq will be better a year from now than they are today."

But can a legitimate poll be conducted under war conditions and the associated intimidation that goes with it? I seriously doubt it. I heard an Iraqi on a newscast say things are much worse today than they were under Saddam. Considering the violence we see every day, I tend to believe him.

I think Sen. Lieberman is a closet Republican and an imperialist who thinks war is an acceptable way to control world oil supplies.

DON GRBAC
Valencia

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We're not needed

Sen. Joseph Lieberman says America can't abandon 27 million Iraqis to 10,000 terrorists ("Why Our Troops Must Stay in Iraq," Dec. 4). Doesn't he see the absurdity of that statement? It defies logic to consider that a group of 27 million needs protection from a group of 10,000, especially after years of warfare.

If indeed that is really the case, then I suggest we re-examine our assumptions and rationales for this war.

What is usually overlooked is the statement by Rep. John Murtha that it appears to him that the presence of U.S. troops in Iraq is making the situation worse, rather than better. We are really spreading gasoline on the fire, rather than water.

I think it is highly likely that, even without the help of the U.S. forces, the 27 million will be able to protect themselves against the 10,000, even if they have to fight a civil war.

JOSEPH S. AMENTA
Squirrel Hill

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Our mission: love

I write this letter to all the readers but especially to letter writer Tricia Brancolini-Foley ("A Needed Buffer," Dec. 8). I want to apologize to her and to all others if we, as sidewalk counselors, come off as "religious zealots without a care in the world" about the women who go to abortion clinics.

I cannot speak for the protesters who are at Planned Parenthood, but only for myself and fellow students who pray and counsel at the clinics in East Liberty. I tell you as honestly as I can that our mission is to show the women going into the clinic love. That is what we teach at our training sessions.

As Ms. Brancolini-Foley kindly pointed out, these women must not have come to the decision easily, but we only want them to understand exactly the facts of their pregnancy and the options they have besides a harmful abortion. As for the help we offer, we have thrown many baby showers for women to help them with physical needs, but we do not trick the women into thinking motherhood is easy or that we will be there to help.

Please, before you call us harassers or propagandists, please understand what we truly do and maybe talk to a woman who is happy she kept her baby after speaking with us.

MICHAEL JAMES RIORDAN
Steubenville, Ohio

Editor's note: The writer is a junior at Franciscan University and a member of Students for Life.

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Face it, it's legal

To abortion clinic protesters Joseph Parente, Keith Tucci and Albert Brunn, I say give me a break. Mr. Parente writes in his Dec. 6 letter ("Limiting Speech") that his group is engaged in the effort to end abortion through prayer and peaceful strategic action.

By all means, go to church, pray and strategize but stay out of legally protected decision-making that is between a woman and her physician. It's none of your business. Just like it's none of my business where you pray, what you pray about and who or what you pray to.

Would you like it if a protester lurked outside your church before and after services and shoved literature from another faith or house of worship into your face and told you that your worship was flawed?

Or how about if someone stood outside your child's school and showed him or her ghastly pictures of auto accidents, autopsies and executions? I don't think so.

By all means, think what you want and fight for what you think is right, but abortion is legal, for now. Lobby your legislators to change the abortion laws if that's what you want to do, but your right to free speech ends when it infringes on someone else's right to privacy and safety.

HAROLD LOVE
Highland Park

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Personal care homes are not adequate for this special care

Thank you for publishing Steve Twedt's excellent coverage of the issues faced by individuals with developmental disabilities in "The Fraying Safety Net: Caring for the Mentally Retarded" (Dec. 4 and 5).

The Dec. 4 article "Retarded Spill Into Loosely Monitored Care" was especially distressing. Personal care homes are not required to provide the same standards of safety and care as properly licensed providers for people with disabilities.

Due to the lack of Medicaid funding and the nearly 23,000 people on Pennsylvania's funding waiting list, people with disabilities are often placed in personal care homes that are either inadequately staffed or staffed with poorly trained employees. Personal care homes are not intended for the placement of individuals who require assistance with taking medication or completing the basics of daily living, yet adults with sometimes severe cognitive disabilities continue to be placed in personal care homes. This practice must end.

The Arc of Greater Pittsburgh is committed to continuing to fight for proper funding to provide appropriate supports and services for our most vulnerable citizens. Until then, individuals with disabilities residing in personal care homes will continue to be at great personal risk.

NANCY GREEN
Chairperson
Arc of Greater Pittsburgh
A Member of ACHIEVA
South Side

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Inexcusable waits

As a mother of a young adult with severe disabilities, I read with interest Steve Twedt's recent series "The Fraying Safety Net: Caring for the Mentally Retarded." Mr. Twedt brings to light many concerns a parent faces caring for a loved one with a disability.

My son, nearing 17 and diagnosed with severe retardation, has been considered an emergency status on the state's waiting list for four years. He has grown well beyond my ability to care for him. I have appealed many times not only to the county Department of Human Services, but also to the state Office of Mental Retardation and my state legislator about the lack of services.

Waiting lists for services are inexcusable, and even more dismaying is the possibility that if the state doesn't address these issues, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services would consider pulling federal dollars that are now used to support people with disabilities. If that happens, my son will be waiting well beyond my time!

ROSE WARMAN
Whitehall

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Twisted priorities

I commend the Post-Gazette for its outstanding series "The Fraying Safety Net." As a parent of a son with disabilities, it scares me to death to think of how poorly our current service system is administered. To think that our most vulnerable citizens are not properly cared for is intolerable.

Every day more than 22,000 Pennsylvanians languish on "waiting lists" for much-needed services and supports. While their loved ones continued to provide constant care for them, our legislators granted themselves a raise. It is time for our representatives to begin supporting legislation that would provide the necessary funding to support the needs of these citizens.

I live in fear of the day that I am no longer able to care for my son. Where will he go and who will care for him?

KATHY LESKO
Brookline