M A I L B A G

Iraq: Inquiry to bail out
Bush and Rumsfeld

The military precision with which words crackled from the deposition of US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and General Myers, the world can only deduct that the whole enquiry conducted by a Republican Chairman of the Senate Committee was nothing but a great whitewash. The whole exercise was meant to save the topmost culprits in the chain of command.

The people of Iraq born no grudge against the US, even though US was the prime culprit in imposing the UN sanctions against Iraqi people for over a decade, when hundreds of thousands of Iraqi babies died of malnutrition and disease. The actual fight was almost mechanical, but the ground activities by the US armed forces had been carried out while demonising Iraqis as enemies of the Islamic world.

This whole exercise is being staged to paint the US and President Bush as the most humane and law-abiding entities in the world. The truth is that Bush and his country stand ruthlessly exposed as blatantly thwarting the letter and spirit of international laws.

GHULAM MUHAMMED, Mumbai

II

It was horrifying to see pictures of Iraqis being humiliated, stripped and tortured by the rogue American military forces in Iraq. What was equally angering was to see that US President Bush did not have the courtesy to apologise during the interview he had with Arab TV and waited for a meeting with Jordanian King Abdullah II to apologise.

Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has accepted the responsibility for the abuse of Iraqi prisoners. But who is really responsible? The famous plaque by former US President Harry Truman read “The Buck Stops Here” and as the Chief of the United States Armed Forces, President Bush is the one who should be held responsible for this outrage. If a man does not have the courage to face the consequences of their actions, they are unfit to be in power.

At heart, the people of America are good. I hope they set the record straight and vote for Senator John Kerry as the next President of the USA in November and restore credibility to the shattered image of the USA.

PRASHANT SOLOMON, New Delhi

III

Apropos of the editorial “A savage behaviour” (May 4), the self-appointed world ambassador of peace and human rights today stands exposed in its sadistic, blatant and wanton criminal abuse of human rights and decency. By indulging in grossly brutal human rights violations and the torturous methods on the Iraqi prisoners in the Abu Ghuraib prison, the US has lot its high moral ground of interfering and advising other nations in their anti-terrorist and anti-insurgency measures.

The worst part of the whole episode is that the US administration has tried to ignore these dehumanising acts of their army as “isolated incidents”. They are rather indifferent when they say, “It’s unfortunate, but these things happen”. Photographs of the US army personnel kicking, beating and urinating on Iraqi prisoners are barbaric and need to be put on the UN agenda of human rights. The US should not just be censured but made to apologise to the whole humanity.

The self-proclaimed warrior that undertook a unilateral “war against terror and evil” has erased the thin line between good and evil by terrorising through bullish means a helpless human society.

VED GULIANI, Hisar

Voters’ list

It is surprising to note that though some people have their voter identity cards issued by the Election Commission, their names were missing from the voters’ list and hence rendered ineligible to vote. This denial of right to vote cannot be justified. The election law should be suitably amended to allow those who have their voter identity cards to vote. The presiding officer should have the powers to include such names in the voters’ list.

R. S. GREWAL, Principal, GGN Public School, Ludhiana

Gift of democracy

The successful completion of the Lok Sabha elections reinforce our faith and commitment in democracy. Surely, we must value the gift of democracy. Otherwise, India will also fall in line with Pakistan, Burma, China and Russia.

The Election Commission has done a commendable job by bringing in more transparency. Now at least our contesting candidates have begun to understand that they are not above the law, and if anyone comes across any discrepancy at any level, he/she should bring it to the attention of the authorities concerned. By keeping quiet, one would be doing harm to society.

Dr HARPREET KAUR SIBIA, Ludhiana

Wanted: Blue traffic timers At a number of road intersections that are manned with traffic lights, the Chandigarh Administration has recently put up timers. This is a welcome step. However, unlike the practice that obtains in the West, where timers are put in blue colour, in Chandigarh, they are in red colour. The red light of timers, from a distance, are often confusing. For, considering a timer's red light as a stop signal, one often tends to stop while it actually is a go-signal in green, a visually less attractive colour than red. This confusion can lead to accidents. It needs to be checked immediately by changing the colour of the timers from red to blue. BALVINDER, Chandigarh