Insofar as Myth No. 2 is concerned: Wasn't Westmoreland saying very convincingly in 1968 that US forces were on the verge of victory in Vietnam? He didn't call it a "surge," but it was the same thing: a troop buildup. Then the Tet Offensive happened, and made a fibber out of him. What do you think are the chances of a Tet-like event happening in Iraq? Hmm....

Eugenio Escobar jr.

Chula Vista, CA

In #1, you mentioned that we have had no attacks from Al Qaeda since 9/11. Bin Laden has stated since December 2001: "If their economy is destroyed, they will be busy with their own affairs rather than enslaving the weak peoples. It is very important to concentrate on hitting the US economy through all possible means."

It seems to me that with the care the Bush administration has taken with the economy over the past seven-and-a-half years, that bin Laden has succeeded in attacking us where he wanted to. Unfortunately, that makes Bush an unindicted co-member of Al Qaeda, with his succssful seven-year plan to destroy our economy, and make it impossible for the government to work.

Jonathan Foster

Dobbs Ferry, NY

These may well be "myths," but such a mythology is what shapes public opinion. The Republican Party has maintained a forty-year stranglehold on Congress and the presidency since 1968 ( I would argue that Bill Clinton was more conservative Republican than liberal Democrat) by creating the mythology of law and order and national security. And 9/11 was the proverbial "home run." It was everything that Dick Cheney and the PNAC prayed for when he said, back in 1997, "All that we need now is our Pearl Harbor."

John Giarratana

jersey City, NJ

This article provoked several questions:

1. You advocate the use of "special forces" to fight terrorism. Do you share McCain and Obama's belief that these forces have the right to operate in other nation's territories without their permission?

2. You appear to believe that Iran is working to make a nuclear bomb. Why do you believe this, when US intelligence forces claim otherwise?

3. You mention using diplomacy to achieve US objectives. What exactly do you think those objectives are?

4. You advocate "a global system of trade and finance built on rising wages and growing middle classes in developed and developing economies." Is such a system inherently environmentally sustainable? If it is not, why don't you mention this as a goal?

Steven Sherman

lefteyeonbooks.org
Brooklyn, NY

Thanks, Nation magazine, for an outstanding cover story and lead editorial. My home town of Grand Rapids just witnessed a "town hall" meeting with Sarah Palin and her running mate last night--and the local news media essentially gave them a pass on an obviously staged sham event.

I strongly encourage readers here to write letters to their local newspapers, and contact local television stations as well to request authentic town halls and/or simply relay the fact that our democracy is failing because we are not getting involved in the necessary numbers.

We may manage to escape the Titanic disaster of a Bush-in-Boots/McCain presidency, but our work will have only just begun.

I'll begin with a letter to my hometown paper referencing this stellar issue of The Nation.

William Kool

Grand Rapids, MI