Praying Not to Hear One Name on the News

Re “Tour of Duty or Deplorable Deployment?” Commentary, July 16: Jeff Danziger summed up the feelings and fears of every one of us who has a loved one in Iraq today. Despite temperatures that soar into the triple digits each day, water rations that leave soldiers dehydrated and weak and morale that has never been lower, the men and women serving in the Gulf are keeping a good face for the folks at home. A recent letter from a friend, spattered with blood from a small wound, reflected that attitude. He wrote, “It’s hard because I look at my buddies and I don’t know if one of them might be next, and they look at me with a look that says, ‘It could be you.’ I don’t know how long I can look at them that way and not go crazy. I guess that just comes with the job.”

I cannot help but wonder when that job will end. In Vietnam, Americans were losing a hundred soldiers every week, but when we lose one each day, everyone hears just one name each night on the news. It’s hard to miss. Those names add up in the consciousness of Americans. Each day, I keep listening for one name, and pray I never hear it, but suffer quietly for one family whose very private tragedy has suddenly become very public.

Dominique Cantwell

Pasadena

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President Bush, your taunt has been heard. The Iraqis are “bringing ‘em on.” Do you or any of your advisors have relatives among the troops in Iraq?

Emilie Robbins

Beverly Hills

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Increasingly there are reports that our troops are stretched thin and overworked. “For U.S. Soldiers in Iraq, Long Haul Grows Longer” (July 16) says “Anecdotal evidence indicates that retention rates are already beginning to suffer in the face of the grueling Iraq duty, Army officials said on condition of anonymity. There simply aren’t enough soldiers for the job as it is....” How is the military proposing to obtain the troops it needs?

The possibility of a draft becomes more and more likely as Iraq becomes increasingly unstable. We have overextended our forces in Iraq while ignoring the fact that Afghanistan is far from stable and may require additional troops as well. This war could have been waged based on a true coalition that would have been equal partners. Instead, by presenting a case that was seen to be weak and without evidence, we have taken on the burden of running Iraq alone.

Jacquie Heffner

San Jose

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In the front-page article (July 18) about the problems of establishing order in Iraq, the concluding quote from a special assistant to Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld struck terror in my heart. Lawrence Di Rita is quoted as promising: “This is the future for the world we’re in at the moment. We’ll get better as we do it more often.” As we wage more war and occupy more countries? God save us.

Jacqueline Knowles

Sierra Madre