<strong><span class="subhead">Phill Kline and Kelsey Smith case</span></strong></p><p>I understand Phill Kline was close to being sanctioned by the judge in the Kelsey Smith trial for not turning over evidence to the defense (6/18, Local, &#8220;Defense pursues evidence in Kelsey Smith murder; No sanction imposed for delay, but Phill Kline&#8217;s pace frustrates judge, Edwin Hall&#8217;s attorneys&#8221;).</p><p>If Kline causes this indictment to be thrown out on a technicality such as this, he needs to be indicted himself. Kelsey and her parents deserve justice, and if Hall murdered Kelsey he should pay the most severe punishment there is and not get off on a technicality.</p><p>I am outraged by Kline&#8217;s behavior and also by his intent to run for another term after he told the Republican Party he would not seek another term.</p><p>Paul Morrison was ostracized for having an affair (a personal issue) but Kline seems to think he is above the law (his abortion crusade, the firing of some very good and experienced employees in the district attorney&#8217;s office).</p><p>Bring back Paul Morrison. He was a great prosecutor with a winning track record.</p><p><p align="right"><strong>Donna Langford</strong></p> <p align="right"><em>Edgerton, Kan.</em></p> <strong><span class="subhead">Faulty prewar intelligence</span></strong></p><p>Sen. Kit Bond&#8217;s letter (6/13), blaming the CIA for faulty prewar intelligence, displays either ignorance or an attempt to cover up this administration&#8217;s deceptions that put us into this disastrous war when they knew that Iraq did not attack us on 9/11. Saudi Arabians and a few members of al-Qaida, who were not from Iraq, were responsible for the attack.</p><p>Knight Ridder, the now-defunct company that owned <em>The Star</em>, published an article reporting that the CIA told Vice President Dick Cheney that the information from Cheney&#8217;s buddy Ahmad Chalabi and his exile group about the existence of WMDs in Iraq was unverified and unsubstantiated.</p><p>Condoleezza Rice&#8217;s deputy, Stephen Hadley, also knew about the CIA report but said nothing. And Cheney chose to ignore it, because he wanted this war and knew that Bush wanted revenge on Saddam Hussein for having threatened his father.</p><p>Because of these deceptions, thousands of Iraqis and our troops are dead or wounded physically or mentally when none of this needed to have happened if it had not been for the rush to a pre-emptive war.</p><p><p align="right"><strong>Madeleine Matthews</strong></p> <p align="right"><em>Kansas City</em></p> <strong><span class="subhead">With surge, Bush got it right</span></strong></p><p>A commentary by David Brooks in <em>The Star </em> (6/25, Opinion, &#8220;With surge in Iraq, Bush actually got one right&#8221;) made things clear. Quote: &#8220;Bush is a stubborn man. Well, without that stubbornness, that unwillingness to accept defeat on his watch, he never would have backed the opportunity for the surge.&#8221;</p><p>Sens. John McCain and Lindsey Graham insisted strongly for the surge, against the advice of many generals and even Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. This gave our president the confidence to appoint Gen. David Petraeus, who strongly recommended the surge that is bringing such good results.</p><p>John McCain had called for more troops from the start. He could now be in a position to bring about an honorable conclusion to a stubborn conflict.</p><p><p align="right"><strong>James F. Westhues</strong></p> <p align="right"><em>Overland Park</em></p> <strong><span class="subhead">Building a better battery</span></strong></p><p>New-change ideas or same-old-waste ideas. The difference in candidates is shown in their approach to car battery development.</p><p>Old idea: Offer a $300 million prize to whoever comes up with a &#8220;leap&#8221; in battery technology for transportation, even though all of the auto companies are researching this area while our National Science Foundation is underfunded and basic research is lagging. Whoever wins the &#8220;prize,&#8221; be it Honda, Toyota or maybe a U.S. auto manufacturer, gets the patent and the profits.