FRIDAY'S LETTERS: Iraq Payouts, Rules of Engagement, Halberstam's Widow

By: E&P Staff In today's letters, a couple of readers weigh in on aspects of the Iraq War, and another appreciates Joe Strupp's interview with David Halberstam's widow.

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Rules of Engagement Change Overlooked

In all the attention the media was paid to Bush's announcement of the new "surge" strategy, overlooked was that he also changed the rules of engagement. It appears that it is now permitted to launch indiscriminate air and artillary strikes on residential neighborhoods and villages.

The new rules of engagement should be scrutinized. They may well be illegal, or at the least, unacceptable. We may be soon told, "We had to destroy Sadr City to save it."

The "clear and hold srategy" didn't work in Viet Nam. It won't work in Iraq either, in spite of the wishful thinking of its latest promoter, Frederick Kagan at the American Enterprise Institute.

James Rodgers
Chicago


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Petraeus and the $2000

Thanks for the timely and much needed article about the $2000.00 payoff. I have three grandsons who are coming of age. One wants to go into service now and I am trying to make sure he understands what the hell it is all about.

Jim Beardsley

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I applaud you for writing this article, and would classify it as another contribution to the necessary exposure of an overall policy created from hell.

Don Durivan
Watertown, MA.

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Halberstam's Widow

Very nice story on David Halberstam and his wife, now his widow. Really nice job on a story I had wanted to read about.

Great quotes, especially, and great job on your end. And so thanks for writing that story. ... It was really good, and better yet, it was really nice.

Dave Wisor