Extreme Bush protests play into supporters' hands

Defacing signs and writing letters comparing G.W. Bush to Saddam Hussein are two appalling examples of irresponsible protest that only can hurt the welI-grounded cause to replace our present administration. These expressions only give ammunition to the Tamara Halls in the Chronicle's pages to lob back accusations of irrationality and extremism on the part of those to the left of her and others of the ultra-right.

I would prefer to see more letters based on reasoned background information, such as Raymond Carroll's in Sunday's (July 25) edition, "Intelligence was already lacking in the Bush White House." I submit another good resource to support arguments against re-electing Bush, a speech by Gen. Anthony Zinni, USMC (Ret.) and former director of U.S. Central Command, titled "Ten mistakes history will record about war in Iraq." (see www.cdi.org for a full transcript), May 12, 2004.

Here in brief are the 10 points:

1) The belief that containment as a policy doesn't work. (It worked against the Soviet Union.)

2) The strategy was flawed.

3) False rationale for going in to get public support (repeated from Vietnam mistake).

4) Failure to internationalize the effort.

5) Underestimation of the task.

6) Propping up and trusting the exiles ("Gucci Guerrillas" from London).

7) Lack of planning.

8) Insufficiency of military forces on the ground.

9) The ad hoc organization thrown in as an after-thought (the CPA had no real plan).

10) A series of bad decisions on the ground (de-Baathifying, disbanding the Iraq army, etc.)

I agree with Gen. Zinni: "It was not an imminent threat. Not even close. Not grave, gathering, imminent, ... none of those. " He concludes with suggestions to begin rectifying the failures in Iraq, all of which to date have gone unheeded by the current administration.

It is clear we cannot afford another four years of catastrophic failure. Vote for John Kerry.

Marilyn Kjellen-Rogers

Bozeman

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