Obama letting criminals out of jail

President Obama has commuted the sentences of 111 convicted drug dealers, adding to the many sentences he has commuted in the past (“Las Vegan on latest list of Obama-granted commutations,” Wednesday Review-Journal). His reasons are that he thinks some of the sentences are too long and that we “must remember that these are individuals,” an aide said.

One of those to be released is Jason Thomas Haslip of Las Vegas, who was convicted of attempting to sell methamphetamine and Ecstasy. The former is one of the most insidious drugs available today. It’s common to become addicted to this drug the first time it’s tried. I wonder if the president considered the damage this drug and the people who provide it have done to our population. They, too, are individuals with families who care.

Prison is supposed to be a deterrent. But if the guilty are not afraid of long sentences, why should they stop their illegal acts? The money is too good and the consequences are being diminished.

Jack Oliver

Las Vegas

Iraq debate

The Review-Journal has recently published letters about who is to blame for the birth of ISIS. Liberals blame President George W. Bush and conservatives blame President Obama. Those letters express only the political opinions of the writers, though. Actual facts paint a clearer picture.

During the first televised Republican candidate debate last year, Jeb Bush said that “Barack Obama became president, and he abandoned Iraq. He left, and when he left al-Qaida was done for. ISIS was created because of the void that we left, and that void now exists as a caliphate the size of Indiana.” The only problem with his statement is that it was not true.

But that claim has since become a conservative talking point, as reflected in the letters blaming President Obama. Jeb Bush was trying to rewrite history because it was actually his brother George who abandoned Iraq.

A “Status of Forces Agreement” between the United States and the Iraqi government called for the withdrawal of U.S. combat forces from Iraqi cities by June 30, 2009, and all U.S. combat forces completely out of Iraq by Dec. 31, 2011. That agreement was signed by President George W. Bush in 2008.

President Obama recognized the folly of withdrawal and tried to negotiate a way to keep some American forces in the country. The Iraqis, however, were unwilling to accept certain key conditions, which included a guarantee that U.S. personnel would be immune from prosecution. U.S. officials wanted, for example, assurances that if members of the American military were protecting themselves and ended up getting in a firefight with Iraqis, they wouldn’t be prosecuted by the Iraqi judicial system. The Iraqis declined to provide those assurances, so U.S. troops did leave Iraq in 2011 as per the agreement.

Would ISIS have become a reality if the United States had stayed in Iraq? That is a matter of speculation, and a question without an answer. But the actions that led to their formation were clearly fomented by the initial signing of the Status of Forces Agreement.

Jim Graham

Las Vegas

Stand up

Everyone who lives in Las Vegas is suffering from the consequences of illegal immigration.

Our schools are ranked last in the nation. Have you ever sat in an emergency room behind non-citizens with your aging parent who has supplemental insurance? My car insurance is three times the national average, supposedly because of the 24-hour liquor laws. Not true. It is because of the illegal people driving with no consequences.

It is about time to stand up for your children’s education and well being.

Karen Sweeney

Las Vegas