Editorials / Opinion

What have we gained?

Mourners carry a coffin of a car bomb victim during the funeral in the Shiite holy city of Najaf, Iraq, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2013. The killings come amid a spike in deadly violence in recent months as insurgents try to capitalize on rising sectarian and ethnic tensions. The scale of the bloodshed has risen to levels not seen since 2008, a time when Iraq was pulling back from the brink of civil war. [AP Photo]

I’m writing in response to the recent article in The Times, about video proof of violence in Iraq. I’m puzzled. [“Videos show rising brutality in Iraq,” News, Aug. 31.]

Let’s recap: The U.S. invaded Iraq in 2003 to ferret out its weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and to oust President Saddam Hussein.

Hussein was considered by some to be the main instigator of the prevalent Shiite-Sunni conflicts in Iraq. There was also vague harrumphing about his allowing an active al-Qaida presence there.

As we all know, there were no WMD and Saddam Hussein, despite being no angel, had managed to keep al-Qaida terrorists at bay.

Today in Iraq, 10 years later, countless lives — military and civilian — have been and continue to be lost, hundreds of millions of our tax dollars were spent, and Shiite/Sunni violence is rearing up again. Al-Qaida terrorism is now robust.

What, exactly, have we gained?

Kathy Swoyer, North Bend

Manning endangered troops

Army Pfc. Bradley Manning was acquitted of aiding the enemy — the most serious charge he faced — but was convicted of espionage, theft and other charges, more than three years after he spilled secrets to WikiLeaks. [AP Photo/Patrick Semansky.]

I am a liberal without a bleeding heart. Pfc. Bradley Manning will receive a punishment that he has righteously earned. [“Northwest Voices: Bradley Manning,” Opinion, Aug. 2.]

He was given an unjustifiable reprieve when acquitted of directly aiding and abetting the enemy. It is clear that he set out to harm the dear old United States of America by revealing thousands of sensitive documents to WikiLeaks.

It is no coincidence that some of what he revealed wound up on Osama bin Laden’s computer when it was confiscated during the Abbottabad raid, as prosecutors argued.

If any of his revelations harmed one hair on my son’s head while he served his two tours in Iraq, I would advocate for the death penalty.

LeRoy Loiselle, Seattle

Unsustainability is unreported

Why is it the media often miss what most needs reporting?

There was little effort to find what was behind the claim that there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Now, what is happening in Egypt may reflect what is happening around the world, and could happen here in the U.S. ["Islamists seized in Egyptian sweep," page one, July 5.]

Egypt’s population has grown well beyond the means of the state to support its needs, and even a strong state will struggle to ensure sufficient supplies of basic staples, particularly fuel and wheat.

Why isn’t this trend toward unsustainability reported in the media?

Richard Pelto, Kenmore