To the Editor:

Re “Iraqis’ Accounts Link Marines to the Mass Killing of Civilians” (front page, May 29):

After the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime, Americans were seen as the saviors of the oppressed peoples of Iraq. Now, our troops are seen as the occupying force, far from being “liberators.”

With a quick withdrawal off the table of options, fixing this image problem is key to our long-term success in Iraq. K. C. Lopata

Canton, Mich., May 29, 2006

To the Editor:

Americans will no doubt express appropriate outrage, and sadness, at the apparently senseless slaughter of two dozen Iraqi civilians in Haditha. But can we as easily absolve ourselves for the thousands of civilian deaths that were a predictable and inevitable outcome of our war of choice?

Is not our elected government responsible for ending thousands more lives in our name, with our weapons, for reasons other than our own safety?

Our outrage should include the loss of these human beings as well.

Michael Farzan

Cambridge, Mass., May 29, 2006

To the Editor:

Maureen Dowd (“Don’t Become Them,” column, May 27) has it right about this unjustified war.

President Bush has demanded that young military personnel do something impossible — and they are breaking under the strain. He will continue to do this until he can turn it over to the next president.

The world is watching us losing our good reputation; American soldiers were welcomed in World War II, now they are feared. A terrible price for “nation-building.”

Shouldn’t our troops be taken out of harm’s way immediately? There will be roadside bombs to infuriate them without end.

They are only human. It is Vietnam in Iraq. Robert A. diCurcio

Nantucket, Mass., May 27, 2006

To the Editor:

Re “The Troops Have Moved On” (Op-Ed, May 29):

Owen West, a reserve Marine major who served in Iraq, certainly does not speak for all troops when he says we are “frustrated by the country’s lack of cohesion.”

As an Iraq war veteran, I would like nothing more than to see civic engagement from the American citizenry. If citizens voicing their views and disagreeing over the direction of America’s foreign policy means that the nation lacks cohesion, that’s fine with me.

My parents protested the war. Even though I disagreed with them, I would defend to the death their right to do so. It’s the American way.

Richard Murphy

Arlington, Va., May 30, 2006

To the Editor:

It would be nice to be able to “put 2003’s debates behind us,” as Owen West suggests, and concentrate on the common ground. But we cannot do this because no one has been held accountable.

Mistakes have been made, we have been misled, and the only people who have paid are the dead, the wounded and their loved ones.

How can we trust leaders who refuse to take responsibility for their bad decisions? Ernesto Gomez

Crestline, Calif., May 30, 2006

To the Editor:

Owen West honors those who fight our battles and decries the delegation of this task to a “small cadre of volunteers,” and I agree.

But there is a world of difference in historical perceptions between those like Major West, who argue for continuing the war in Iraq, and those of us who disagree.

It is ironic that Major West chose Lincoln’s words — “let us strive on to finish the work we are in” — to make his case. Lincoln was speaking of the work of binding up the nation’s wounds caused by war.

Conway Leovy

Kenmore, Wash., May 29, 2006