PUBLIC FORUM.

Iraq war going well?

Re ``A principled stand'' (Our Opinions, June 20):

The Daily News is entitled to its own opinions but not to its own facts. Some congressmen such as Howard Berman choose to go with the flow and be ranked with the winning side while others like Brad Sherman choose to make a statement by not participating in a game where the deck is stacked.

The facts are, the Iraq war is not going well; it is already a civil war. The Bush administration has for some time been setting the new Iraqi government up to be the fall guy when it fails. If Bush has so much faith in the Iraqis, why did he wait to notify them of his visit only five minutes before he recently sneaked into the (ahem) safety of their country? Yep, everything is going well in Iraq according to King George. Ask the parents of the two soldiers that were just found beheaded; you might get a different assessment.

-- Philip Wilt

Van Nuys

Open season

Re ``Death toll reaches 2,500'' (June 16):

George W. Bush talks about amnesty for Iraqi insurgents -- this while our children are still in Iraq fighting and dying. This is the second time he has declared open season on our soldiers. Mentioning amnesty while combat operations are still occurring is just another way of saying ``bring 'em on.'' Historically amnesty is offered when aggression is halted as a way for the populace to rebuild their civil society.

Oh, but wait -- there's more. Just to further prove their state of oblivion, White House spokesman Tony Snow said that 2,500 ``is a number.'' I think these two statements say it all. This occupation is disastrous and is not for the security of the United States. We must get out of there now.

-- Sharon Graham

Huntington Beach

Traveling Tony

Re ``Mayor told fight needed to save his LAUSD plan'' (June 16):

Gulliver is at it again, off to Sacramento to lay claim to the L.A. Unified School District controlled by the evil Lilliputians disguised as teachers and elected representatives of the people. Next comes the trip to seduce the fair kings and princes of the NFL with promises of pleasures funded like our trash assessment was dumped on us.

When will the people of Los Angeles tire of our own Gulliver's travels and demand his efforts be to attending to our city's problems? Shades of Mayor Jimmy Walker in New York or Mayor Richard Daley of Chicago. Mayor Villaraigosa, please stay home and fix Los Angeles.

-- Ira Kaplan

Woodland Hills

Bill, just shut up

Re ``Coulter has company on other side'' (Viewpoint, June 18):

It just amazes me that Bill O'Reilly, in criticizing Ann Coulter, can write with a straight face, ``I truly believe that ultimately, the winners in the war of ideas will be those who out- reason their opponents, not smear them.'' Has he ever listened to himself shout at people who dare to disagree with him, ``Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!''

If Bill O'Reilly is the example of ``fairness along with perseverance and honesty'' that he implies he is, we are truly living a Kafka-esque nightmare. O'Reilly should follow his own advice to Coulter and avoid personal attacks. But he won't because, like Coulter, he is ``being celebrated by (his) chorus, and is being well paid by corporations who are more than happy to light their flaming arrows.''

-- Richard Klinger

Sherman Oaks

To be, or not to be

Many fault the Los Angeles Unified School District for students' low scores on SAT tests and the failure to pass exit exams. The fault really isn't necessarily with the students; it's a ``being'' problem. Parents not being at back-to-school night or parent/teacher conferences and not being there helping the child study. Think about this next time you want to blame an educator.

-- Bob Ginn

Arcadia

No fooling

We hold this truth to be self-evident that all people are equal fools. However, some go on to become bigger fools and then the lesser fools elect these big fools to political office as their leaders, therein making the lesser fools actually the biggest fools of all.

-- Robert L. Rosebrock

Brentwood