There’s no winning in falsely claiming victory
Philadelphia: To Voicer Ken Derow: If you’re a Democrat and not a MAGA-lite party member pretending to lean left, your ludicrous support for President Trump is noteworthy for all the wrong reasons. Admonishing Democrats to “let Trump take a victory lap” is the height of absurdity.
A victory lap for what? Conflict, death and destruction throughout the Middle East in more than a dozen nations; the U.S. and Israeli bombing and massacre of hundreds of people in hospitals and children in schools; Iranian missiles and drones devastating Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Riyadh in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait City, as well as the airport in Abu Dhabi that serves as an international gateway for tens of millions of travelers every year. Are we safer now, as you posit, with the death of the ayatollah when angry citizens around the world are now attacking U.S. embassies and consulates, with numerous deaths already?
Only a simple-minded person believes that Trump has solved any of the world’s problems with this utterly asinine attack on a sovereign nation that never posed any threats to U.S. security. Now we can look forward to Iranian terror cells activating throughout the world, including in the U.S., with a hell-bent intent to inflict as much pain and suffering as possible on Americans. Is that what Democrats are supposed to be taking victory laps for? If you believe so, you’re part of the problem that afflicts America today. Diane Doberman
No moral high ground
Brooklyn: Trump should mind his business on Iran when we are killing our own people in Minnesota. The Iranian government is laughing at us, saying, “Look at your own country.” We have a new civil war. Europe, Russia and the Middle East will laugh at us and they will be in the right. Our Founding Fathers warned us to beware of foreign entanglements or it would bite us in the ass. David S. Glassner
Executive executioner
Deer Park, L.I.: Where were all the New York liberals when President Barack Obama used drone strikes more than 500 times in Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia and Afghanistan? Fairly quiet. He also did it without congressional approval. Larry Nekola
Still haven’t learned
Nutley, N.J.: Those who can’t remember the past are condemned to repeat it. I cite George Santayana’s oft-used quote because I believe the U.S. has made two serious mistakes in its relations with Iran and is now in the process of making a third. The first, in 1953, was the overthrow of the Iranian prime minister, Mohammad Mosaddegh, in a covert operation by the CIA and British intelligence, the result of the Iranian government nationalizing oil production. Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi assumed power. The second mistake: The shah’s years in power were marked by a close alliance with the U.S. and significant human rights abuses — specifically, imprisonment and torture of political opponents by SAVAK, his secret police. Now we have a third mistake. Voicer John Di Genio detailed the foolishness of the belief that this attack will bring about a new pro-Western democracy. Three strikes and you’re out? Peter Griswold
Assassination stance
Estero, Fla.: I was born and raised in Brooklyn. I think like Trump. I can guess at his answer to the concern that the son of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei may take his father’s place. I bet he’ll say, “I don’t care who takes over in Iran. If you start the nuclear crap again or spread terrorism, I will attack again and wait to see who replaces you.” John Piccolo
Show patriotism
Howard Beach: Let us put all feelings aside for one moment and thank Trump for keeping America safe and prospering. All Democrats and Republicans are true Americans who have a great love for this country deep inside their hearts. It’s a good thing that Trump didn’t wait for Iran to attack America; we could have lost hundreds of thousands of people, prosperity and literally the American way of life. If you love this country (I know I do) then support those who are fighting to save America on a day-to-day basis. Nick Di Pasquale
Explosive scandal
Jacksonville, Fla.: So, the orange-faced Oval Office occupant lit the match to the Middle East tinder box, which has caused total chaos and cost innocent Iranian and American lives! And his objective: “Don’t look over here at the Epstein files, look over here at me bombing Iran!” Meanwhile, this little boy has caused military deaths! And for what? A big diversion from the Epstein coverup! Carl J.C. Hafner
That was rich
Wallington, N.J.: Remember when Al Franken was forced to resign over a photo taken on a plane years before he was in office? Robert Stamper
Roads need work
Flushing: As a New York driver, I understand the city’s need to address congestion and improve transportation. But congestion pricing currently sends all revenue to the MTA even though drivers are paying the fee. Transportation in NYC isn’t just subways and buses. It includes the roads that taxis, delivery drivers, emergency vehicles and city buses rely on every day. After every winter storm, potholes and damaged streets remind drivers that road infrastructure is aging. If drivers are contributing congestion fees, it’s only fair that a portion of that revenue be invested in the roads they depend on. Allocating part of the funds to road maintenance through the NYC Department of Transportation would recognize that New York’s transportation system includes both transit and the road network that keeps the city moving. Kevin Wong
Scare tactic
Manhattan: Re “N.Y.’s energy law must be amended” (editorial, March 2): I envision your cartoonist Bramhall sketching our state’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act as a huge, octopus-shaped vacuum cleaner gradually sucking up all the oil and fracked gas out of tanks, plants and pipelines, emitting a burp while the sun shines, the wind blows turbine blades and ordinary families have enough money left over for ice cream cones. What a nightmare for the fossil fuel barons, who’ve hurled millions of lobbying dollars at Gov. Hochul and GOP legislators. Yet, Big Gas still has Hochul in its claws. Instead of coming up with affordable regulations to meet the climate mandate, Hochul has stalled for two years, then declared the law’s 2030 goal unreachable without a huge cost to families. She’s gambling on frightening us. Does she really think our utility bills will go down if we invest in more gas? Thomas A. Caffrey
Insult accurately
Manhattan: Sid Rosenberg is not a bigot for calling Mayor Mamdani a Jew-hating “cockroach” (“Zoh: You’re a bigot, Sid,” March 4). It was just a poor choice of a word. There are many Yiddish words that would best describe our inept mayor: schmendrick, schmo or pisher. Translated, they mean a clueless mama’s boy, a young and inexperienced person, and an idiot or fool. Susan P. Siskind
