Letters

(2 of 2)

Are Iranians Fed Up?

Re your article "Tehran's Game," about what the Iranian government is up to these days [WORLD, Feb. 4]: People here in Iran do not necessarily fall into the two categories of hard-liner (conservative) and pro-Western (reformist). There are those who smell a rat in respect to both factions. The majority of Iranians are fed up with the demagogues and yearn for true democracy in our country.
NAME WITHHELD BY REQUEST
Tehran

Dollars for Defense

Re "The Lessons Of Afghanistan," about what the weapons the U.S. has used there have taught us [NATION, Feb. 18]: It is difficult to argue against a realistic military budget that would allow the U.S. to enhance homeland security and wage a modern war overseas if that should become absolutely necessary. It's conceivable, however, that the Bush Administration's planned mammoth spending for some possibly outdated war equipment may be overkill and a waste of money, as well as a political payback for the defense industry. Also, perhaps it could send a dangerous signal to allies and other countries that the U.S. might well be abandoning its hard-earned name as a peace-loving nation.
CLAUDE M. GRUENER
Austin, Texas

I was displeased with Mark Thompson's criticism of the Administration's military-spending plan. He said the F-22 Raptor fighter jet was designed to challenge a Soviet force no longer in existence and noted that critics of the RAH-66 Comanche helicopter think the chopper should be scrapped. But both weapons use stealth technology--the very thing Thompson praised in other weapons. Even so-called low-tech devices like tanks can be extremely intimidating to our enemies. The war on terrorism could require an invasion or an occupation force. That alone justifies the expense of more weapons. In the grand scheme of things, $11 billion is not that much money, and it is better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.
CAREY SIMPSON
Auburn, Ala.

The Worst Abuse

I read with deep anger about the Taliban's use of young Afghan women as sex slaves [LETTER FROM AFGHANISTAN, Feb. 18]. That abuse, however, should come as no surprise. The women of Afghanistan were long ago abandoned by a world that behaved as though the Afghan woman's plight was unimportant, sending the Taliban the message that they could do whatever they wanted--as long as it was to women and girls. Governments remained silent on the barbaric treatment. Unless we speak up, we are all guilty of complicity.
SUE DOUGLASS
Albany, Calif.

I'm not sure which group committed the greater crime--the Taliban, which kidnapped the women, or the victims' families, which now reject the former captives instead of welcoming them back and helping them overcome the atrocities they had to endure. It's not just the Taliban but most of Afghan society that is to blame for tolerating criminal acts toward women.
PAUL GAFFNEY
Chico, Calif.

Guided by a Book

Bright and able yet equally wayward, I ran with the wrong people for a lot of my youth. When I came upon Claude Brown's book Manchild in the Promised Land, about growing up in Harlem [MILESTONES, Feb. 18], I found characters and situations I recognized. Petty crimes, loser friends and the rest of it, all in a rough urban setting, wasn't that far from my own experience. Most important, Brown's tale showed a way out. It was the story of a phoenix, not just a smoldering fire. This stark book showed me what was possible. Those of us who have been helped and guided by Brown's novel owe him a large measure of gratitude.
JOSEPH H. BOLLETTIERI
St. Paul, Minn.

Value Judgment

Your item about former teen pop star Tiffany's posing in Playboy to show that she is no longer a kid [PEOPLE, Feb. 18] quoted her publicist (a man), who had the audacity to say, "Any woman would be honored to pose for Playboy." Maybe his clients will try anything to get attention. I don't know any self-respecting woman, however, who would think of this as an honor.
LENNIE GRIFFITHS
Hamilton, N.J.