The Middle East, Israel and the Bush Doctrine

Re “Bush Gains in Efforts to Win Over Jewish Vote,” May 19: For the longest time now I have kept my mouth shut. I know, when we’re over at a Jewish friend’s house or going to some synagogue function, to steer clear of any discussion involving Iraq. My support of President Bush has made me a political pariah. You can imagine how relieved I am to see the thunderous display of affection for our president at his recent speech to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. As one delegate put it, he is the first president to understand that “the terrorism Israel has had is now the terrorism the U.S. has.” Perhaps in the not-too-distant future, longtime Jewish Democrats will also see the wisdom of conservative fiscal spending.

Rich Siegel

Culver City

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President Bush has been very supportive of Israel, and AIPAC defines itself as a pro-Israel lobby group. Of course he was greeted warmly at the AIPAC meeting. Well over 80% of Jews voted against Bush in 2000, however, and Sen. John Kerry supports Israel just as strongly and far more wisely. We Jews support Israel, but we also cherish civil rights and fiscal responsibility. Kerry will have our support in November. As for David Klinghoffer’s bizarre piece (Commentary, May 19), the most remarkable thing about our Republican leaders is precisely their failure to take meaningful “personal responsibility” for anything.

David M. Crohn

Riverside

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This country once fought a war to “make the world safe for democracy.” Now, it has instigated a war to make the Middle East safe for Israel. The current military adventure in Iraq is driven by a Judeo-Christian jingoism aimed at transforming the Middle East by the sword; it is doomed to failure. The invasion of Iraq, based on the premise that the road to peace in the Middle East lay through Baghdad, was one of ill-conceived hegemony, a lamentable ideology called “the Bush doctrine.” Hopefully, Americans will at some point learn by heart the name of its author: [former Pentagon advisor] Richard Perle.

Richard E. Norred

Los Angeles