Iraq War: We gave George W. Bush a nice kid and got back a very angry man | Opinion

War crimes

It’s been 20 years since I gave George W. Bush a very nice kid and got back a very angry man.

It’s been 20 years since his mother and I had to mail food and clothes to Iraq because the regular Army could not get them to his unit.

It’s been 20 years since the lie of Saddam’s weapons of mass destruction.

Is now the time for the International Criminal Court to take a serious look at the Bush administration’s war crimes in Iraq? Dead and wounded Americans — how many? Dead and wounded Iraqis — how many?

Reasons to invade? None.

Putin was charged for his crimes in Ukraine. As he should be. What is the difference with Iraq?

Sven Soholt, Spanaway

Hypocrisy

The News Tribune’s Matt Driscoll wrote an editorial on March 9 regarding Shawn Kemp and the recent incident where gunfire was exchanged near the Tacoma Mall. Driscoll, intelligently for once, stated that we should wait for the investigation to conclude. This is a change for Tacoma’s premier jester.

I seem to recall Driscoll rolling one hot take after another regarding Pierce County Sheriff Ed Troyer and his incident with a newspaper carrier. It was systemic police brutality and racism and all other Evergreen College buzzwords. Nowhere did Driscoll reserve or withhold judgment. It was as if Driscoll wanted to unleash all of his buffoonish positions before any facts came in or were finalized.

Driscoll loves hot takes from his Ivory Tower, but only if they reflect his partisan frenzy.

Douglas Aguirre, Tacoma

America first?

All my (pretty long) life I have heard Republicans constantly supporting any anti-communist actions or wars. And I always heard Republicans denouncing Democrats for being soft on communism, like Chamberlain placating Hitler at Munich in 1938.

So it’s been very strange to hear some Republicans say now that we are doing too much and spending too much to support Ukraine.

I’m no historian, but Russia’s invasion sure feels like Hitler’s first invasions of Czechoslovakia and Poland in 1939. But these Republicans believe in “America First.” Remember that policy?

Now we see what that policy really looks like in world affairs: retreat from standing up to naked aggression; like overlooking the fundamental international norm of not invading your neighbor.

I’m no Republican either, but Reagan was right. The U.S. is a “shining city upon a hill”; the place that people everywhere aspire to live in, for economic opportunity, for political freedom, for individual rights.

Russia and China embody a different vision, the state first, individuals second. We have to stand up for the city on a hill. We are its only hope.

Robert Saunders, Steilacoom

Sticking with Trump

In the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections, Senator John McCain and Governor Mitt Romney were called racists. Neither one fought back in any significant way. How did that work out?

In 2016, Republicans wanted a candidate who would fight back and call out the media for their obvious lies and liberal bias. Republicans wanted Donald Trump.

President Trump slammed the media with thousands of tweets. Some were cringeworthy and he made a number of dumb and stupid statements. He was not a polished politician, but he was for truth, justice and everyday Americans.

The media fought back with a vengeance and smeared Trump virtually every day for almost five years. The barrage of lies and smears far outweighed Trump’s “mean” tweets. Democrats, the media and even some Republicans called Trump a bully. These people need to get a grip.

Who was the real bully? Trump was fighting back to save America from socialism and corruption.

I am not better off than I was under President Trump. Are you?

Craig Chilton, Bonney Lake