Past time to change our course in Iraq
The time is long past for a change in tactics in Iraq - to extricate our country from the current military quagmire and implement a diplomatic solution ("Time running out in Iraq, panel says," Dec. 7).
The Iraq Study Group's recommendations that we pursue broad, regional diplomacy - including talks with Iran and Syria - are a necessary step toward bringing our troops home from Iraq.
The ball is in President Bush's court now - only the president can engage in diplomacy and Mr. Bush needs to get it started, and soon. If he fails to act, it will be harder to bring our troops home and the loss of life will get worse.
The United States has always engaged in diplomacy - we talked with the Soviet Union during the Cold War. We talk with China.
James A. Baker III, the Republican co-chair of the Iraq Study Group, got it right when he said, "You talk with your enemies."
If President Bush doesn't act, the new Congress should hold his feet to the fire.
Democrats were elected with a mandate to figure out how to bring our troops home.
Diplomacy is an essential part of making that happen.
Michael E. Wallman
Ellicott City
Tepid medicine for woes of Iraq
On Thursday, the 65th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, I found it particularly heartbreaking to read the sanitized, homogenized and perhaps intentionally befuddled language of the Iraq Study Group's report and see the carefully couched follow-up interviews and testimony of the panelists ("Time running out in Iraq, panel says," Dec. 7).
Could one imagine President Franklin Roosevelt making his famous address after the Pearl Harbor attack and saying, "Today, we urge caution and we are not certain what action we recommend."
It is also sad to see a public servant of former Secretary of State James A. Baker III's gravitas reduced to someone some historians may judge as a lapdog in the service of former President George H.W. Bush's efforts to salvage the reputation of his son, President Bush.
Stan Heuisler
Baltimore
Bolton deserved Senate's blessing
The Senate's failure to confirm John Bolton as U.S. Ambassador to the United States is a disgrace ("Bolton leaving post as U.N. ambassador," Dec. 5).
Mr. Bolton has shown that he is a very capable diplomat and that the charges that his brusque style would prevent him from being an effective U.N. ambassador are erroneous.
His tenure at the United Nations has proven that he is a man of tremendous ability. He deserved to be confirmed by the Senate, not forced to resign.
Incoming Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Sen. Joseph Biden has indicated his opposition to Mr. Bolton time and time again.
But just look at Mr. Bolton's accomplishments in his short time in this post.
He has assembled coalitions to address North Korea's nuclear activity, Iran's uranium enrichment and reprocessing work and the horrific violence and killing going on in Darfur, Sudan, to name just a few of his successes.
Mr. Bolton has been a prime mover in trying to bring about reform at the totally corrupt administration of Secretary-General Kofi Annan at the United Nations.
Mr. Bolton has served America with distinction.
Would that politicians such as Mr. Biden would do likewise.
Joseph F. Maxwell
Malvern, Pa.
War on drugs turns children into pawns
I was truly outraged by The Sun's article "'Pawns' in the drug game" (Dec. 3).
I was under the impression that we wage a war on drugs in this country so that these illicit substances stay out of the hands of children. Imagine my surprise to read about 9-year olds being charged with intent to distribute cocaine.
What is going on here? Are these our tax dollars at work?
When will people realize that as long as these drugs are unregulated they will continue to be bought and sold by anyone at any age?
Selling drugs certainly pays better than a paper route.
Joe Province
Pittsburgh, Pa.
Stabbing reminds us of school crisis
The recent stabbing at Southwestern High School is only a symptom of a much greater problem in Baltimore's schools ("Fourth teen arrested in Southwestern High stabbing," Dec. 1).
The city schools have been neglected by the Maryland State Department of Education, North Avenue, the mayor's office and his City Council for too many years.
As years of rumors about the possible closing of Southwestern High have turned into real plans (perhaps) for closing the school next year, it is clear that Southwestern has long been abandoned, much like many other schools.
And the state's obsession with raw numbers (attendance, graduation rates, scores, etc.) in evaluating schools has prevented this school, and so many others, from fostering a real learning environment, with rules and consequences.
The students allegedly involved in this tragedy knew their failure to be part of a healthy academic environment would prompt few repercussions in the education system.
A radical overhaul of our education system, including funding practices, is required - and those in the highest administrative echelons of the city and the state are the last ones who should be asked for their input.
Perhaps the city should turn everything over to the Maryland Freedom Board of Education, a Baltimore Algebra Project initiative, for fresh ideas from some of the people most affected by the problem.
Myles Hoenig
Baltimore
The writer is a teacher at Southwestern High School.
Do big debts qualify candidates to lead?
As The Sun recently reported, Democrats John Edwards and Wesley Clark still have hundreds of thousands of dollars each of unpaid debts from their 2004 political campaigns ("2004 debts haunt Clark and Edwards," Dec. 3).
Based on their proven ability to spend vast amounts of money they do not have, and to burden others with the debts, both of these men are eminently qualified to hold high political office in Washington.
Leslie Kuff
Cockeysville
Shedding new light on marriage debate
Jean Marbella's column "Their best argument is the lives they lead" (Dec. 5) brought fresh air to a sometimes shrill and always serious debate over the right of equal marriage.
Her sense of humor is delightful and her focus on the normality of the people involved in the lawsuit puts perspective on the basic human rights issues involved in same-sex marriage.
We particularly enjoyed her positive Old Testament analogy since we've suffered so much from the use of archaic references to the book of Leviticus through the years.
We are grateful for Ms. Marbella's compassionate support.
Charles Blackburn Glen Dehn Baltimore
The writers are among the plaintiffs in the American Civil Liberties Union's lawsuit for marriage equality in Maryland.