PUBLIC FORUM GET ON WITH IT.

It has never been a question for me that our president and his administration are going to go to war with Saddam Hussein. That's what they want to do, they're in charge, it's going to happen.

What I find less than obvious is why President Bush regularly goes out of his way to criticize and otherwise browbeat any other government or government official who does not support the idea. George W. has repeatedly stated over the past year that we do not need anyone's help, support or permission to invade Iraq. Why waste the breath if he feels so strongly that it doesn't matter what anybody thinks? It's clear that he has no doubts about his decision. Just do it and shut up already.

- Bob Loza

Burbank

Chilling precedent

George W. Bush, angry at most of the world, including almost all of our allies because they won't do as they are told, presses ahead with his Iraqi war plans, figuring that if he confronts the world with a fait accompli, they'll have to go along. Such risky gamesmanship has a chilling precedent.

Twelve years ago, Saddam Hussein, angry at Kuwait because it was massively undercutting the world price of oil, bankrupting Iraq with its massive war debt from the U.S. encouraged Iraq-Iran war, occupied Kuwait, figuring that if he confronts the world with a fait accompli, they'll have to go along. What if 12 years from now, the U.S., still occupying Iraq, still finds the world massively resisting its unilateral attempt to dominate the world? The price we will pay will be very steep, indeed.

- Martin Kotowski

Sherman Oaks

Hussein and Hitler

In a typical nonsensical liberal view of the War on Iraq, Susan Sarandon's TV ad states: ``I need to know what Iraq did to us.'' I would like to say to Sarandon, Ben Cohen of Ben & Jerry's, Martin Sheen, Mike Farrell, et al ... I need to know what Adolph Hitler did to us. Hmmm?

- John Reilly 

Granada Hills

Doesn't get it

The Bush administration doesn't get it. Most intelligent people recognize that Iraq has large amounts of biochemical weapons. We don't need a smoking gun kind of proof. We recognize that every sovereign nation, including our own, has the right to defend itself. Just as Israel has not abided by U.N. resolutions doesn't mean they should be invaded.

If the U.S. invades Iraq, Saddam Hussein will destroy the oil fields in Rumalia. That will mean no oil for our victory. Our invasion will also result in Saddam Hussein unleashing all those biochemical weapons on our troops and his own Iraqi people. We will be bringing democracy to dead people.

- John Wisdom Dancer

Canoga Park

Subway is a success

Re ``Subway hopes fading'' (Jan. 30):

Everyone, including the Daily News, loves to bash the Metro Red Line subway. However what people don't realize is that 20 years from now Angelenos will be grateful for the forward thinking minds that developed the Metro Rail system.

It's obvious that a subway that wasn't allowed to be finished cannot realize its potential. Instead of complaining about how the rail system ``doesn't go anywhere,'' try supporting useful rail lines, such as a Red Line extension to Westwood and a 405 rail line from the Valley to UCLA and LAX. One-hundred-forty-thousand riders is great for an unfinished subway.

- Martin Culjat

Los Angeles 

Red Line benefit

Re ``Subway hopes fading'' (Jan. 30):

In the mid-1990s an MTA study predicted that the subway would have 125,000 daily boardings when it opened in North Hollywood in 2000 - a number that was immediately surpassed. Measuring boardings-per-mile, it is one of the most successful in the nation.

The Red Line has created a powerful central spine that benefits all modes of transit. Do we really feel that the Ventura Boulevard Rapid Bus would be the same success if it didn't connect to the Red Line and forced passengers to sit in gridlock on the 101 like the old days? How successful would the future Valley Busway and Pasadena Gold Line be if they didn't connect to the Red Line?

- Roger Christensen

Sherman Oaks

Monorail 

Re ``Subway hopes fading'' (Jan. 30):

There's a good reason why transit planners killed Supervisor Michael Antonovich's proposal to build a monorail down the Ventura freeway. A monorail is a low-speed, low-capacity amusement park ride that politicians love to talk about because it impresses Southern Californians whose only experience with public transit stems from Disneyland. What's next from Antonovich? A Ferris wheel?

- Roger Rudick

Los Angeles

Deadly numbers

As a professional in the field of health and safety, I am compelled to respond to Richard Rofman's Jan. 29 Your Opinions letter. Rofman relates his own family's tragedy as a result of smallpox vaccinations. I have had the vaccine twice without complications.

From the Centers for Disease Control: 14 to 54 people out of 1 million will experience severe complications; one to two people per million, are likely to have a fatal reaction. The death rate for smallpox in the unvaccinated is 30 percent. That is, 300,000 dead per 1 million cases. There are 280 million people in this nation. If you were in charge, what would you do?

- Steve McCombs

Chatsworth

Income and spending

When trying to explain current thoughts, plans, and solutions to the budget crisis, legislators have developed a language unique to the conundrum of our current monetary shortfall, replacing expressions like higher fees, levies, and tariffs with obfuscations like backfills, recaptures, reverse cuts, and, my favorite, revenue enhancement measures.

With such clever minds in Sacramento you would have thought that legislators would have recognized that uncontrolled spending, $3 to every $2 of income, was going to create a huge deficit. If legislative spending would have had matched income, California, instead of being $35 billion in debt, would be enjoying a $5 billion surplus, half of the $10 billion surplus available to the legislature and governor at the time Gray Davis first took office five years ago.

- Darwin M. Ochs

Lancaster

Social Security raise

Re ``Government raises (Your Opinions, Jan. 22):

Social Security did indeed grant a 1.3 percent increase in monthly payments as compared to the 4 percent raise for federal employees. Not mentioned was the fact that Medicare premiums were raised by $5.70 per month.

Therefore, my $13 per month Social Security increase nets me only $7.30 a month, which equates to only a 0.72 percent per month increase, not 1.3 percent per month. I am a 79-year-old double Purple Heart Marine Corps Veteran of World War II on a fixed pension.

- Victor Vasu

Los Angeles

Polluted water

Re ``Contaminated groundwater target of study'' (Jan. 28):

As a resident of California, I am greatly affected by this issue. I am in complete support of Environment California's efforts in research and public education. I think that it is very important that the residents of California are informed of this issue and that something is done to force polluters to take responsibility for their actions.

I would really like to ask state legislatures to support the issue and force polluters to pay the full cost of cleaning the contaminated water supply. I would also like a warning system to let us know when our water supply is putting us in danger.

- David Meyer

North Hollywood