PUBLIC FORUM EMPTY-HANDED.

Re ``White House: No WMDs found anywhere in Iraq'' (Jan. 13):

Hah! So chief U.S. Inspector Charles Duelfer, spearheading President George W. Bush's campaign to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, came up empty-handed for the ``nth'' time, and now Bush concedes with ``but I'm still right.'' Since I was a quarterback in high school and know a little about reading defenses, it becomes quite clear that Bush picked an aggressive ``offensive war'' against the enemy who did not attack our beloved country.

As Dubya gets ready to spend political and fiscal capital for his inauguration, I ask the question again and again: Mr. President, who are our brave soldiers fighting for? And how do you explain to the families of these loved ones that they died for a ``great cause''?

- Spencer Shiffman

Calabasas

Bush is a WMD 

Re ``White House: No WMDs found anywhere in Iraq'' (Jan. 13):

Finally, the United States can stop living in fear about finding weapons of mass destruction that weren't found in Iraq. However, we recently discovered a huge active WMD right here in the United States, so we Americans can start having fear again.

The target is a healthy Social Security program, and the WMD is President George W. Bush, using our tax dollars to try to blow up the successful and needed plan.

- Jerold Drucker

Tarzana

Sands of Iraq

The searchers are back, and there are no WMDs in Iraq. WMDs were the pretext for going to war in Iraq. The pretext has changed to a War on Terror. But aren't Osama bin Laden and his cronies in Afghanistan, Iran and Syria?

The sand in Iraq has been a quagmire where we have lost brave Americans and sunk billions of dollars. As we have seen locally, quagmires of mud can kill, and it's difficult to be extricated from them. It may be time for us to get out of the bog of Iraq - before Baghdad starts looking like Saigon.

- Leigh Datzker

Woodland Hills

Where's the apology

So we're calling off the search for WMDs. Dr. Hans Blix, chief weapons inspector for the United Nations, previously said there weren't any weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Now that it has been proven there aren't any, President George W. Bush owes an apology to the United Staes of America.

Of course, Donald Rumsfeld on ``Meet the Press'' in spring of 2003, when asked why we were going to war against Iraq, gave the real reason to Tim Russert. ``To capture the oil fields'' was Rumsfeld's immediate top-of-the head response.

- Jean Strauber

Encino

At your own risk

Re ``Governor visits scene of mudslide; state help in rebuilding promised'' (Jan. 13):

While the loss of life in the La Conchita mudslide is unfortunate, it is absolutely appalling that the residents there should be whining to Sacramento for untold millions in taxpayer money to shore up an area that has a 140-year history of trouble. Living there should be at one's own risk, and to stop further tragedies the whole town should be condemned.

- John Lynch

Studio City

Forged documents

Re ``CBS fires four over '60 Minutes' story'' (Jan. 11):

CBS airs a story that, though factually not in dispute, was based on forged documents. Damage - none. For this, four journalists lose their jobs. Meanwhile, the Bush administration enters into a pre-emptive war over documents, proven to be false, claiming that Iraq was in possession of weapons of mass destruction. Damage to our nation - more than 1,100 U.S. servicemen and servicewomen killed; up to 100,000 Iraqis killed.

For this, the person ultimately responsible, George Tenant, is awarded a Medal of Freedom.

In spite of the failure to ensure that known explosives were secured, Paul Bremer and Gen. Tommy Franks also receive Medals of Freedom. So CBS and Dan Rather are vilified, and Tenant, Bremer and Franks get medals. I find this double standard appalling.

- Doris Dent

Studio City

No admission

Re ``CBS fires four over `60 Minutes'' story'' (Jan. 11):

Dan Rather skated with not being fired. He still has not admitted the Bush Air National Guard ``story'' was an intentionally fabricated lie. Let's not kid ourselves, the CBS four who were ``dismissed'' will soon show up close to home with cushy, well-paid jobs.

- Betty Arenson

Valencia

What if ...

Re ``Journalistic standards'' (Your Opinions, Jan. 12):

Ronald O. Richards, whose frustrated anger is understandable but not logical, suffers from the same problem as the heads of CBS: Journalists should not pass off provably faked letters as evidence to promote their political cause.

Richards also conveniently dismisses 17 U.N. resolutions regarding Iraq and weapons of mass destruction. But the larger issue is the damage CBS could have wreaked on our democracy and a fair and honest election of the president. What if Kerry had won - and a significant part of his victory had been attributable to the CBS presentation of a patently false document as fact?

- Aaron L. Kolom

Los Angeles

No tough calls

Re ``Panel backs ballot proposal to merge LAX, LAPD forces'' (Jan. 12):

It appears the City Council is doing it again. Rather than make a tough decision about merging the airport and city police departments, they are going to pass it along to the voters. That way they don't have to worry about upsetting the unions or the employees. Let the voters take the flak instead.

By the way, whatever happened to the airport police who were televised spending their time in restaurants and union halls? Were they and their supervisor ever fired or reprimanded - as they should have been? I'll be surprised if anything has been done.

- Jack Pedder

Granada Hills

Opening up El Toro

I am 100 percent in favor of the ``Los Angeles El Toro International Airport.'' No one is in the noise zone at El Toro. It is the best planned airport in the world. The airport was there first. It has fuel-efficient cross runways pointed to where airplanes need to go. The airlines and pilots just love El Toro because it saves thousands of dollars per flight - millions of dollars per day.

The passengers from Los Angeles International Airport using El Toro are already tourists bound for Orange County for Disneyland, Knott's Berry Farm and the hit television show ``The O.C.'' in Newport Beach. We need El Toro for 30 million annual passengers. There are two 10,000-foot runways and two 8,000-foot runways ready to go. It is time to turn on the lights.

- Donald Nyre

Newport Beach

Bleaker than ever

Throughout the presidential campaign, George W. reminded us that ``freedom is on the march'' in Afghanistan and Iraq. Now, a former Union 76 consultant is the newly ``elected'' head of state in Afghanistan, where the poppy business has never been better. We have decimated Fallujah, a city that 300,000 people used to call home, and slaughtered upward of 200,000 (by conservative British estimate) - mostly innocent Iraqi citizens. And the outgoing chief of CIA operations in Baghdad opines that Iraq's future is bleaker than ever.

Freedom on the march? I wonder what belligerent, fear-mongering imperialism - secure the oil at any cost but call it War on Terror - looks like on the march.

- Grant Gullickson

Northridge