PUBLIC FORUM.

Bush's Iraq failure

Re ``Success depends on Iraqis, Bush declares'' (June 13):

Surprise! Surprise! President George W. Bush's statement that the success of the war now depends on the Iraqis comes as no surprise.

Finally realizing that the war is going badly and seeing no way out, he is passing the responsibility for his failure to the Iraqi people, whose country has been devastated by his unnecessary invasion of a country that was no threat to us. This casual dismissal of a catastrophic scenario caused by him is disgraceful.

-- Patricia Lamoree

Granada Hills

No validation for Bush

Re ``Bush validation'' (June 11):

In response to Michael Duarte's question ``Does this mean President Bush was right in fighting the war on terrorism in Iraq ?'' The answer is no. The facts still remain the same. The war was based on lies and faulty intelligence, al-Zarqawi wasn't even in Iraq until Bush invaded, declared ``bring it on'' and ``mission accomplished.''

Unfortunately the death of this evil man will not end this war. I salute the brave men and women who continue the fight and pray they will all come home soon.

-- Nick Benas

Granada Hills

Real border defense

Re ``Troops control border'' (June 13):

Let us turn to a more critical border defense -- deploy squads of knuckle-dragging yahoos to the Canadian border to ward off an influx of illegal immigrants with terrorist, subversive ideas, such as affordable prescription drugs, universal health care and honest elections.

Make our government safe for the wiretappers, environmental rapists, corporate looters and petroleum pirates. God bless America.

-- Frank E. Johnson

Hollywood

No quarter

Instead of closing down the Guantanamo detention facility, perhaps we should consider supplying the facility with more sheets.

-- Gene Goodwein

Van Nuys

Meaning of suicides

Re ``Military calls Guantanamo suicides `act of war''' (June 11):

The news of the three recent suicides at Guantanamo may be raising security concerns, but why the three took their own lives is a more relevant issue. Was it a pathetic display of martyrdom? Perhaps they expected America's far left to react, again, in a manner that undermines the war effort and, by extension, our country.

On the other hand the suicides may have been in response to al-Zarqawi's death last week. The death of al-Qaida's field general on the Iraqi front may well be the beginning of the end for them. With al-Zarqawi gone, it makes you wonder how much farther Osama bin Ladin is burrowing in his cave.

-- Samuel D. Hopper

Palmdale

Overcapacity busline

Re ``Orange line heads toward overcapacity'' (June 13):

The MTA should look at operating an Orange Line express service. This will be quicker than buying larger buses since they can utilize the existing bypass lanes that are available at every station. Larger capacity buses will take a couple of years of purchasing and lobbying to remove restrictions on vehicles larger than 60 feet.

This service will only need a few stops at key locations such as Van Nuys, Reseda and Valley and Pierce colleges to complement the Orange Line and provide a speedier alternative to the 101 that can cut 8-10 minutes off the Orange Line. For the future, upgrading the Orange Line to rail as originally intended, stretching from Chatsworth to Burbank and then through Glendale to L.A., creates the best potential of a cross-Valley rail connection that would benefit the region.

-- Jerard Wright

The Transit Coalition

Los Angeles 

What it takes

Re ``Zoo elephant dies as care debated'' (June 12):

So all the elephants imprisoned at the L.A. Zoo have to die before something is done about their welfare? Please stop building the costly new elephant exhibit and send the remaining elephants to an accredited elephant sanctuary.

It is time to make sure that these magnificent beings are properly cared for. It's beyond time to use money wisely and allow these elephants to live the lives they're meant to live.

-- Jerri Miller

Van Nuys

Diminishing returns

Re ``Zoo elephant dies as care debated'' (June 12):

People caring about animals have made zoos better places, but there is a point of diminishing returns. Do these people worrying about the $30-plus million habitat consider that we should all revert to some earlier, more natural state.

What are the realistic, present-day options for elephants? How much will we afford? What is realistic to expect? What is doable? What is ``natural'' and who gets to live the ``natural'' life today? Why do these people, under the guise of ``nobleness'' want to throw the baby out with the bath? Why do they want to destroy one of the really nice things our city government has to offer? We get to see and appreciate wild animals and learn about their diminishing habitat and perhaps wonder about our own.

-- Lynda Fenneman

Valley Glen

NoHo gridlock 

Re ``NoHo rising'' (June 11):

NoHo rising? Yes, but it will sink back into a quagmire of its own making. Terminal gridlock. Either through sheer stupidity or conscientious oversight, the planners for these projects have not planned for the simultaneous widening of Magnolia and Burbank boulevards between Lankershim Boulevard and the Burbank city line.

For the most part both boulevards are one lane in each direction. Magnolia already suffers from gridlock. Furthermore the article failed to mention the new high school, which is also included as part of NoHo Rising, which will create a wild traffic frenzy twice a day on top of all the other traffic woes.

-- Bob Peppermuller

North Hollywood

Road rage cop-out

Re ``Road rage more than rudeness'' (June 6):

So road rage is a personality disorder? All I see is a huge collection of weak and insecure people intentionally using motor vehicles to take the edge off of their frustration at the expense of innocent fellow motorists. They range from the wannabes who apparently think a BMW is exempt from the vehicle code to the poor lost souls whose idea of reclaiming power is preventing you from making a lane change, passing to the right when the road narrows, or coming right up on your bumper before passing.

The solution is simple: Since their behavior is not only just as dangerous, but also deliberate, make aggressive drivers subject to the same criminal penalties as drunk drivers.

-- John S. Soet

Burbank

The color of rage

The people who wrote about road rage certainly have a legitimate complaint. However, they did not go far enough in fixing the blame. California is a blue state and most of our drivers are liberals. These people pretend to be charitable with others, particularly citing their concern for children, the poor and minorities.

However, when they get behind the wheel of a car they become monsters. Just drive in a Red state and notice the difference.

-- Sion Colvin

Woodland Hills

Apples and oranges

Not to knock the hard-working men and women of Los Angeles Airport Police, but graduates of Los Angeles Police Department's Academy spend a probationary period on the job dealing with crime and crime victims followed by years of experience in one of the largest cities in the world. All the POST (Peace Officer Standards & Training) courses in the world mean nothing if the people passing them are then used as security guards.

It's a fact that L.A. Airport Police handle security issues at our airports; LAPD handles crimes at our airports. They both have important jobs, but in the end it's the job experience that separates them.

-- John Kurt

Reseda