CAPTION.
CREDIT
Michael Goodwin has it right again (“Tortured Logic on Bush,” May 8).
The policies implemented during the Bush years are what helped to nail Osama bin Laden.
It was in the works for years, but you will never hear any praise from the likes of Harry Reid or anyone on the far left. They were too busy criticizing the dreaded “torture” policies.
Now we have President Obama, grinning from ear to ear and taking all the credit. It looked strange to see him placing a wreath at Ground Zero when he was against these policies for years.
S. King
Manhattan
***
To those who forget: The president is simply a figurehead.
The fact that Obama’s poll points rose because of the death of bin Laden is a joke. This was a military operation carried out because Obama’s top advisers told him it was viable.
George W. Bush put this operation in motion and will be remembered for it, not Obama. Our current president is the one who wanted to close Gitmo and stop our harsh interrogation techniques.
Please stop with the praise for Obama and give the credit to our military commanders and the SEALs who carried out the mission.
Scott Byrne
Floral Park
***
Why are the media and many talking heads treating the demise of bin Laden like the 2000 election of Bush v. Gore?
Much of what is being alleged about information from Bush-era interrogations is only speculation. Unless they viewed video- or heard audiotapes, most of the punditry and politicians have no idea what went on in what are likely classified interrogations.
They should stop the grandstanding and let the free world rejoice in the fact that bin Laden is dead.
C. Hill
Brooklyn
***
Goodwin accurately communicates what the death of bin Laden represents for Americans and the whole world.
He writes from his heart and deserves a Pulitzer for writing that Obama’s silence at Ground Zero was “the best speech never given.”
I, too, salute Bush, Dick Cheney and all our brave men and women in uniform.
Nancy J. Jancourtz
Brooklyn
***
Now that bin Laden is dead, let us thank the many people who made this happen.
The intelligence that led to bin Laden’s demise was gathered due to Bush’s policies, and the execution was performed magnificently by special forces and the CIA.
Yet, the same media that spewed vile commentary at Bush for eight years about his treatment of terrorists now praise Obama for the killing of bin Laden.
Bush never strayed from the course. He made gutsy calls every day after 9/11. Obama’s “gutsy” call seems to be more about his prospects for reelection than about bin Laden.
Sam Trippi
Summerville, SC
***
Obama killed the most feared and dangerous terrorist and mass murderer.
Congressional Republicans are now demanding that Bush and his illegal interrogation methods be given credit, even though the Bush administration incomprehensibly allowed bin Laden to escape due to rank incompetence and tim-
idity when the US military had him cornered in Tora Bora.
I do give Bush full credit for a killing, though. He inherited a roaring economy with a budget surplus and, in eight short years, completely killed the US economy, leaving it in shambles for Obama, along with the greatest deficit in America’s history.
D. Duane Wall II
Cambria, Calif.
***
Yes, Obama got a nice bounce in his poll numbers after the raid that killed bin Laden.
Now I would like to see someone complete a poll on Bush. Some of his tools and tactics from years ago were used to enable Obama to complete this mission.
Scott Rasmussen, where are you when we need you?
Bill Viggiano
Williston Park
