Letters

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As someone who spent 15 years in the military and saw active service in Borneo and Yemen, I found your selection appalling. I would not question the bravery or professionalism of U.S. soldiers in combat, but they are totally untrained for the role of an occupying force. I hope they learn quickly, before the whole of Iraq turns against them.
NEVILLE DE SOUSA
Northampton, England

--TIME's choice of the American soldier as Person of the Year prompted objections from readers who felt the word soldier referred only to members of the U.S. Army. But as managing editor Jim Kelly explained in his From the Editor column, TIME used soldier "in its broadest sense, to stand for all of those in a U.S. uniform who go in harm's way." Other readers were upset because they mistakenly thought that female service personnel were not represented in our cover photo. They failed to notice that the soldier in the center of the picture is a woman, Army medic Billie Grimes.

One Platoon's Story

Your article "Portrait of a Platoon," about the U.S. Army's 1st Armored Division Survey Platoon, nicknamed the Tomb Raiders, was thought-provoking [Dec. 29--Jan. 5]. After I read the profiles of platoon members, I felt I knew them like my family. Every American should be proud of them. The account of how TIME journalists Michael Weisskopf and James Nachtwey were injured after Weisskopf grabbed a grenade thrown into their humvee, saving the lives of several soldiers, gave sharp insight into what is really going on in Iraq. I understood what our troops face every day. Thank you for this honest and valuable report.
TAMARA M. ANTHONY
Shrewsbury, Mass.

A dispassionate reading of your Portrait of Tomb Raider platoon leader Second Lieut. Benjamin Colgan, who was killed while on patrol, left me wanting to salute the memory of people like this brave soldier. He represents those stationed on all the battlefields of contemporary history who are defending liberty. Colgan's life and sacrifice offer a testament to courage and patriotism.
EMMANUEL FRANKLYNE OGBUNWEZEH
Frankfurt, Germany

The Deputy's Decisions

Your article "The Godfather of the Iraq War," about Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz [Dec. 29--Jan. 5], contained some false and unfair criticism of him. Recently the Administration decided to allow U.S. taxpayer dollars to fund prime contractors only from the U.S., Iraq, other coalition partners and nations contributing forces to the effort in Iraq. This was a correct, principled decision and was approved by the President and all members of his national security team. To lay any criticism of this decision at Wolfowitz's doorstep is unfair. He is an important member of the President's national security team. President Bush values his counsel, judgment and principled leadership.
STEVE HADLEY, ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT AND DEPUTY NATIONAL
SECURITY ADVISER Washington

Although you described Wolfowitz as an "intellectual" and the first to push Bush to topple Saddam after 9/11, he has surely not mastered the subject of history. If he had been in one of the history classes that I taught, he would have learned how democracy took root in England in 1215 with the Magna Carta and developed over the course of centuries. He would have studied the French Revolution and the travails of that country as it struggled to emerge as the France of today. Does Wolfowitz realize how difficult it is to bring democracy to a people who have no democratic tradition? Perhaps he might have a better grasp of the situation in Iraq if he accompanied our troops on a night mission to root out insurgents.
HERBERT DODGE
Los Angeles

Snaring Saddam

Why am I not terribly relieved by the capture of Saddam Hussein [Dec. 22]? It took an awfully long time to capture him, and in the sorry state he was found, he seemed hardly a threat to anyone. But what's worse, the Americans got the wrong man. It wasn't Saddam who masterminded 9/11, nor was it Iraqis who flew the planes that day. The man to go after is Osama bin Laden, and the one Arab nation we want to keep our eyes on is Saudi Arabia, where 15 of the 19 hijacking terrorists came from.
ODD TERJE DOVIK
Kristiansand, Norway

By broadcasting the videotape of the medical examination of Saddam, the Americans aimed to humiliate the whole Arab world. They divested Saddam of human dignity by filming him during the procedures that he was forced to undergo. Arabs felt a deep disappointment about this tactlessness. Whether such stratagems will help U.S. efforts to achieve good relations with the Arab population remains highly questionable.
IRFAN QAYEESH
Damascus