Letters: Distorting war casualties

I'M SO TIRED of critics of the long-gone Bush administration like Lora Neal (

Dec. 18

) citing the unjust Iraq and Afghanistan wars as senseless conflicts where "Americans are dying every day."

Every war casualty has a story and every soldier lost is a tragedy, but please don't try to equate the sacrifice of American lives in the Gulf since 2003 with the sacrifices tolerated by America during other wars.

In World War II, more than 400 U.S. soldiers were killed on an average day. Some operations, like the island campaigns in the Pacific, had horrendous daily numbers into the thousands. Even in smaller conflicts like Korea and Vietnam, Americans were being lost in numbers that dwarf the statistics in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2003.

On average, the U.S. has lost two soldiers a day during these six years of "war." Does Lora Neal really believe that's a tragically excessive, unsustainable number that should stain the reputation of President Bush throughout history?

More Pennsylvanians are killed daily in car crashes statewide than there are soldiers lost in the Gulf. I doubt writers like Lora Neal will take up the cause of demonizing Henry Ford or Ransom Olds for creating a machine in which, senselessly and tragically, "Americans are dying every day."

Christopher Knob, Media

It's just not justice

Re preferential treatment for a cop's kin: I'm ashamed to know that my tax dollars are no longer providing justice for the just but instead are now providing protection for criminals who happen to be related to or associated with members of the police department.

As a law-abiding citizen and a fellow gun-owner, I'm appalled at the response of the entire justice system in regards to Brian Westberry.

How is it that we allow someone to be persecuted for defending himself and his family in his own home?

Gianni Marzulli, Philadelphia