The Afghan Endgame

  • I read Joe Klein's "Finishing the Job in Afghanistan" with a heavy heart [Jan. 17]. His well-written firsthand report of the situation in the war-torn nation does not portray any encouraging scenario. The article says that by the end of 2013, the vast majority of U.S. troops will depart the country. Yet the Pentagon has announced that 1,400 additional Marines are being sent to southern Afghanistan to counter the Taliban offensive. If the long relationship between my country and the U.S. is any guide, I suspect troops will stay put and the war will drag on for several more years.
    Jinn Moon-Tze, SEOUL

    Klein's article is highly readable, on-the-spot documentation that opens one's eyes. From all indicators, war in Afghanistan will not end so long as the present Kabul government is still in charge. Once the U.S. begins to pull out, the weak, shabby and ill-prepared Afghan security forces will likely collapse, indirectly inviting the Taliban to march into Kabul. U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates is sending extra Marines to cope with the tense situation, while close neighbor Pakistan has become highly unstable, politically and militarily. Can the U.S. really afford to start withdrawing in July when situations are so fluid and dangerous?
    Chaan Munn-zie, HONG KONG

    Al-Qaeda doesn't need Afghanistan as a safe haven. It's safe in Yemen, Somalia, the Sahara and, especially, in Pakistan. And if we want to give Afghan peasants better irrigation and cold storage for their pomegranates, it's not the Army or General David Petraeus who are going to build them. If building such facilities still needs armed protection, it's because the Taliban have not really been evicted, and they hardly will be, as no Western army has ever won a lasting victory on the Asian mainland.
    Nicolas Gessner, PARIS

    The Power of Painful Images
    My compliments on your efforts to keep the Afghanistan conflict in front of the American public [The Birds of Hope: With a Black Hawk Medevac Unit in Afghanistan, Jan. 17]. If more national media outlets followed your lead and put these scenes, so ably presented by James Nachtwey, on daily news programs, the silent majority would again come to life and put an end to this loss of American blood and treasure in a fruitless and wasteful effort.
    Bryce Sanders, CLARKSVILLE, TENN. U.S.

    This piece touched me more than any other TIME essay. Tears flowed down my face. And I continued to stare into the eyes of the Marine who had lost his legs. I could see his pain; I felt it. Sometimes it is easy to forget that our service members are over there fighting for our freedom every day while we enjoy the rewards. Thank you for showing our true heroes.
    Bethany Tonguis, DESTIN, FLA., U.S.

    Your photo essay brought home the point that we may stand up for cause, work for a cause or even die for a cause, but killing and maiming for a cause solves nothing.
    Heidi Klotz, BERLIN

    I'll Believe It When I See It
    Re "Where the Jobs Are" [Jan. 17]: I really want to believe employment is finally growing again. But I have three degrees and work three jobs to make ends meet. I work with similarly educated people who are restaurant hosts or hostesses, are retail-store managers or are unemployed. I see companies threatening cutbacks and older workers pressured to leave jobs so younger, less costly workers can be hired. I want to believe; I am just not seeing it where I live.
    David Coffin, ADA, OHIO, U.S.

    Money for America's human and physical infrastructure has traditionally come from the very wealthy through taxes. But after decades of tax reductions for this population, money is no longer available for teachers and firemen, road and bridge workers and hundreds of other jobs. So while the rich ride high, the nation as a whole sinks.
    James M. Ridgway Jr., TUCSON, ARIZ., U.S.

    Jobs: The Hard Truths
    Thanks to Zachary Karabell for the first realistic analysis I have read regarding the current job situation in this country [Where the Jobs Aren't, Jan. 17]. Of course outsourcing has been responsible for the loss of many jobs. The only way we will get back to an acceptable unemployment rate is to develop new industries at home.
    Herman Behrend, COATESVILLE, PA., U.S.

    Karabell accurately identifies the problem of unemployment as a structural and not a cyclical one and points out our denial and inability to confront it. In addition to maintaining cutting-edge infrastructure and excellent education, the U.S. can compete by granting federal, state and local tax incentives to enterprises in exchange for the creation of good jobs with benefits and the production of quality goods. With this and other policies, we can bring manufacturing jobs back.
    Luis Baerga-Duprey,
 GUAYNABO, PUERTO RICO