Our occupation of Iraq is a barrier to stability

Remember when we were told American troops in Iraq would be "greeted as liberators"? Remember when we were told the war would be "paid for with Iraqi oil"? Remember when we were told the war would "take months, not years"?

Jack Kelly, in his recent column, wants us to forget all that ("Give War a Chance," March 4). He wants us to understand that "typically, it takes eight to 11 years to defeat an insurgency." He wants us to be willing to support four to seven additional years of U.S. efforts to stop sectarian violence. Once that's accomplished, we can get started on rebuilding and creating a stable Iraq. Mr Kelly doesn't give statistics on how long that might take.

The difference between Mr. Kelly and we who want to get out of Iraq now is our definition of "winning" in Iraq. He sees it as squelching sectarian violence and setting up a democracy in Iraq. This ignores the reality that insurgents can lay low to seem as though they have been defeated, only to rise again. He also ignores history: Constitutional democracies do not fit this region. Of the 40 created since World War II, none have been in Arab countries, in Muslim countries or in countries torn by civil strife.

True victory means bringing stability to the region. It means galvanizing an alliance of the United States and European and moderate Arab nations that resets strategies and opens dialogue. It means creating alliances that isolate rogue states such as Iran. Ironically, the greatest barrier to achieving stability is our occupation of Iraq.

ROB GARDNER
Mt. Lebanon

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A nation insulted

The PG's Rob Rogers, in his editorial cartoons, has provided readers with a steady dose of heavy-handed criticism of President Bush; no subtlety, no humor, no rapier cuts, just do the job with a machete. For him, the president cannot do anything right.

He exceeded even his own excesses on March 1 when he depicted the United Kingdom as a "lap dog" to the United States. What a slur on the leaders and people of a great nation.

Mr. Rogers evidently believes that the U.K.'s support of this country's efforts to bring a better life to the oppressed masses in the Middle East is an act of obeisance and deference, rather than an action by a proud, sovereign nation based on principle and done in its own self-interest. How insulting.

HARRY M. CORBETT
Shadyside

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Downsize it all

It's naive to think that a targeted spending limit ("The Half-Trillion-Dollar Solution" by Bruce Ackerman and David Wu, March 4 Forum) is the solution to the Iraq war. Limits are easily circumvented and soon forgotten.

Years ago, during the Clinton administration, I read that government pressures telecommunications providers to route calls and e-mails through Canada to avoid U.S. wiretapping laws.

The Bush administration outsourced interrogation to Egypt to avoid torture bans.

Congress usually doesn't even read the legislation it passes. A catchy-titled "Iraq Cap Act" might also include the fine print preparing for an Iran invasion.

The fundamental problem is that our government is too big. It has too much power, too many resources, too many agendas and too many places to hide too many secrets.

Even if we manage to stop the bleeding in Iraq, that will only redirect blood to other domestic and foreign policy wounds, all too numerous in our bipartisan welfare and warfare state.

That's why the real solution must include capping all of government back to its libertarian origins, as the U.S Constitution intends. If not, our country will suffer a debilitating shock as the burden from these wounds threatens our financial and personal lives.

MARK CROWLEY
Plum

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Stuck in the past

What will it take for the Allegheny County Democratic Committee to support reform candidates? Even though the city -- broke and declining in population -- needs positive change, every reform candidate standing for a city office was declined the endorsement ("Democrats Back Mayor in Election," March 5).

Pittsburgh deserves a leader like Bill Peduto, whose record on fiscal responsibility and community development positions him as far more qualified to bring the city toward a bright future. Candidates like Mr. Peduto, Patrick Dowd, Bruce Kraus and Heather Arnet offer the city a choice of positive change.

On May 15, let's show that the people want conscientious leadership for the future.

STEPHANIE GIUFFRE
North Side

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Voting machine mess

Regarding "New Voting Machines Could Be Trashed" (March 6): That should have read "should be." I shouldn't need to say this, but I told you so. I told government. I told everyone with several letters to the editor. But none would listen.

The real fault lies with the federal government for enacting the "Help America Vote Act of 2002 -- Public Law 107-252." That was a knee-jerk reaction to a local voting problem in Florida. Typical of government to try to force a one-size-fits-all solution on all of us. Haven't they read the Constitution ... especially the Ninth Amendment?

DOUGLAS A. BAUMAN
New Kensington

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End dollar bills

The U.S. Mint is smart to create the new presidential dollar coins ("Dead Presidents: Can Coins Bring American History to Life?" March 5 editorial). This increases collectibility among those who aren't coin collectors. But to make sure that these coins are used in general circulation, the U.S. government must follow the success of Canada and the United Kingdom and eliminate the dollar bill. Besides, the average life of a dollar bill is nine months -- and the coin, forever.

EDDIE LOWY
Owner
Banner Coin Exchange
Downtown

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A physics giant led me into a long-term 'Mary Worth' habit

The perceptive and amusing articles about the "Mary Worth" comic strip by Barry Alfonso and Bob Braughler ("The Next Page," March 4) triggered a memory of a life-changing experience I had about 50 years ago.

At the time, I was a graduate student working on my thesis research at the Carnegie Tech (now Carnegie Mellon University) Nuclear Research Center. Thursdays were seminar days at the NRC when generally all the faculty and grad students interested in nuclear and particle physics would congregate there to attend the seminars as well as informally discuss the interesting physics issues of the day.

On one fateful Thursday, arriving at the NRC dining room for lunch, I noticed there was an open seat at the table occupied by two of the giants of the world of theoretical physics of that time: Eugene Wigner and Gian-Carlo Wick. (Wigner would be awarded the Nobel Prize a few years later.) I claimed the open seat in hopes of benefiting from whatever scientific profundities might arise in their conversation.

Instead, as I sat down I heard Wick say to Wigner: "You know, every day when I open the newspaper, I read 'Mary Worth.' I don't know why, but I read it faithfully every day." There followed an inconclusive discussion of possible causes of his mystifying addiction. Had I the same propensity, I thought to myself, I would be reluctant to admit it.

To that point in my life I scarcely had had time to follow my favorite strips, "Pogo" and "Peanuts," let alone waste time on such as "Mary Worth."

Nevertheless, if someone of the intellectual stature of Professor Wick was hooked on it, I thought I should have a look for a couple of days to see if I might be missing something. In fact I found it cloying and utterly uninteresting. But realizing that the strip was founded on continuing stories, I decided it would be more fair to give it more time ... perhaps a couple of weeks; then a few more weeks; then ...

Well, the result is that now, 50 years later, I am still reading "Mary Worth" every day and, like Wick, I have absolutely no idea why.

JOHN FETKOVICH
O'Hara

The writer is emeritus professor of physics at Carnegie Mellon University.

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