Letters to the Editor: We tried a Project 2025-style approach in Iraq. It was a disaster

To the editor: One need not look back to the U.S. government’s 19th century “spoils” system to see the danger of replacing the current merit-based federal workforce with former President Trump’s Republican Party loyalists. (“Trump’s vow to fire thousands of ‘crooked’ federal workers prompts alarm,” Aug. 30)

Consider what took place when another Republican president, George W. Bush, attempted to install a democratic government in Iraq after the U.S. invasion and overthrow of Saddam Hussein 20 years ago.

The administration reportedly screened potential U.S. workers in Iraq for their views on Roe vs. Wade. A 24-year-old who never worked in finance was put in charge of reestablishing Baghdad’s stock exchange. L. Paul Bremer III, leader of the Coalition Provisional Authority, disbanded the Iraqi Army and refused to allow members of Hussein’s Baath Party, however well-qualified, to hold positions in the new government.

This greatly increased the ranks of the unemployed and left numerous government departments at the mercy and whims of less-qualified individuals.

We all should recall how our government’s folly in Iraq played out — and vote to insure that Trump never again serves as our president or has a say in replacing federal civil service personnel with legions of his sycophants.

Robert Wignot, Goleta

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To the editor: Upon reading about Trump’s targeting of the U.S. civil service system, my immediate and overriding thought was Lord Acton’s famous 1887 quote, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

For those who are not familiar with the quote, I suggest you Google it. For those aware of it, be careful what you may wish for this coming November.

Michael D. Leventhal, Rancho Mirage