To the Editor:
Re “Despite Warning, Clerics Choose Hard-Liner” (front page, March 9):
While the Trump administration celebrates removing a despotic leader, the succession of his son, Mojtaba Khamenei, confirms that power has simply shifted from one autocrat to another. Meanwhile, the human cost is staggering.
Your investigation of the Minab school strike, which reportedly killed at least 175 people, many of them schoolchildren, exposes the wrong path we have taken.I wish I could believe this war was based on sound military counsel, but we cannot forget that President Trump previously fired several top military experts.
I find myself praying for a sudden thunderbolt of recognition that leads us back toward sanity. We must infuse some sliver of reason into this madness before our national conscience is lost entirely.
Dana Bryant Brooklyn
To the Editor:
In just little over a week of war we have killed moderate Iranian officials who might have worked with us; we bombed a girls’ elementary school, killing dozens of children; and seven American service members have died.
We’ve been given multiple contradictory aims for the war. We’ve been told it might last a week, or four, or continue indefinitely. And we’ve been treated to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s juvenile rants about raining down “death and destruction” on Iran.
By selecting another theocratic hard-liner, Mojtaba Khamenei, a son of the recently killed supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran has signaled it has no intention of surrendering.
Meanwhile, canisters of enriched uranium remain hidden deep inside the country. We’ve given Iran many more reasons to want to build a nuclear weapon. As a result of this latest poorly planned war, President Trump has not ruled out sending in American troops on the ground.
How do quagmires begin? When a president forgets that the main purpose of American military might is self-defense, that a war of choice without clear goals and an exit strategy is likely to end badly, and that when our military kills and destroys ruthlessly, it does not create or build.
This war is a huge mistake with no end in sight. Hopefully Republicans will pay the price in November.
Eric Beldoch Bronx
To the Editor:
Re “Trump Witnesses Return of Bodies of 6 U.S. Service Members” (nytimes.com, March 7):
Can someone please tell Donald Trump that wearing a baseball cap while witnessing the return of fallen soldiers, even if you are the top dog and commander in chief, is in very poor taste?
In what world does someone start a war that almost immediately costs the lives of six service members, then don a casual cap to see them home? It’s not a golf course, for Pete’s sake! It is a somber situation. These people gave their lives for their country. Show some respect.
Brenda Sussna White Bear Lake, Minn.
To the Editor:
Re “A Feeble Pitch for a War Tough to Sell,” by Peter Baker (news analysis, March 7):
Mr. Baker’s thorough assessment of President Trump’s impulsive, secretive and illegal military attacks on Iran leads one to wonder, “How can this be?” The daily opinion polls and the shaky stock market underscore the fears of another long-term war.
In a speech on Saturday, Mr. Trump mentioned the return to Dover Air Force Base of the six soldiers killed in a drone strike in Kuwait. He called them “heroes” and then blithely added that they were “coming home in a different manner than they thought they’d be coming home.”
Mr. Trump’s concern for the effects of war, both abroad and at home, is questionable. His refusal to ask Congress for authorization to go to war is illegal. Fears of attacks at home, cyber or otherwise, are resurgent — 25 years after the Sept. 11 attacks.
I hope that this unlawful war can be stopped before it is too late.
Bonnie Greene LeVar Briarcliff Manor, N.Y. The writer’s brother, Donald Freeman Greene, was killed on United Flight 93 on Sept. 11, 2001.
To the Editor:
Re “What Is Trump Up to in Iran?,” by Frank Bruni and Bret Stephens (The Conversation, March 6):
The answer to this question is the same as what President Trump has been up to all his life — reckless gambles with other people’s assets. This was the story of Mr. Trump’s casinos, Trump University and, now, the Trump war in Iran.
If, by chance, the war is successful, he, the president, will get the credit. If it fails, as is more likely, we, the people, will pay the price.
Bharat S. Sarath East Brunswick, N.J.
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