To the editor:

Let’s consider two items about national security. I think they will help to correct some wrong impressions.

1) The Iraq Survey Group concluded that Saddam Hussein had no weapons, nor active programs to develop them. And there were no connections between Saddam Hussein and al-Qaida. But Saddam did have precision tools that would be helpful in a nuclear program. As long as inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency continued, the whereabouts of these tools were controlled. But after removal of inspectors and invasion of Iraq, the IAEA reports the tools missing. They were probably looted and put on the black market, available to terrorists.

2) President Bush had warnings before 9-11 about possible terrorist attacks in the U.S. and/or about al-Qaida — from outgoing Clinton officials, from a bipartisan committee on security threats (co-chaired by Gary Hart), and from the intelligence report of August 2001 about increased al-Qaida chatter indicating imminent action. Why not an all-points directive to the intelligence agencies for information on al-Qaida? But Bush and his advisers brushed aside the warnings, being fixated on long-range missiles. Instead, on 9-11 National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice was going to give a speech on long-range missiles.

And national security is supposed to be Bush’s strong suit!

William O. Scott,

Lawrence