Questioning US Policy in Iraq

In his Opinion page article "The Real Iraq Scandal," June 3, the author correctly faults "the fawning incompetence of US diplomacy toward Baghdad in the months and days prior to the invasion of Kuwait." However, he too readily condones United States policy toward Iraq in the years before that period, both during and after the Iran-Iraq war.

It wasn't until the invasion of Kuwait that President Bush likened Saddam Hussein to Adolf Hitler. George Bush surely knew what Saddam was like long before then.

Yes, back the troops, but sack the commander in chief who as president sent them into a battle that astute leadership might have averted. Almost 150 American war dead, albeit a low casualty rate, was a high price to pay for that flawed diplomacy. David J. Steinberg, Alexandria, Va. Remember the Aborigines

I was amazed by the article on Melbourne "A City That Many Cultures Can Call Home," June 3. The author went on and on about peaceful multiculturalism, about people from 140 countries living in harmony, and never once mentioned the culture of the native people of Australia: the Aborigines.

From the very beginning of Australia's occupation by white colonists, the black Aborigines have been mistreated - much the same way the American Indians were mistreated by the Europeans. Though perhaps improving, the situation in Australia is far from idyllic.

It was refreshing to read about a place with such a high level of cultural tolerance, but it's important to recognize the reality of racism. Robert de Qui, Dockton, Wash. Keep economic regulations

In the article "North Debates Global Mandates," June 3, the author quotes John Cregan of the United States Business and Industrial Council as saying that, "Only a growing economy unencumbered by costly regulations can produce enough wealth and technology to deal with these problems." It sounds as if he wants to get rid of regulations to boost the economy. The result would be the hastening of the deterioration of the environment.

By the time it's decided that the economy is strong enough, the problems will be far worse and the cost of dealing with them much higher. They used to call such illogic "penny wise and pound foolish." In the long run, it has always cost far more to fix a problem after the fact than to prevent the problem in the first place. Donna M. Hess, Natick, Mass.