Letters

(2 of 2)

This war was never about WMD threats or Saddam Hussein. It's about an obsession with power and control.
STEVE MAWHINNEY
Roseville, Calif.

The stress american soldiers are feeling is caused by their inability to fight a war with one hand tied behind their back. It's no use having the world's greatest military equipment and not being able to use it effectively. The coalition forces' ridiculous strategies represent weakness. The troops should not worry about upsetting Iraqis. Saddam ruled his people with terror. They understand only force; talking is ineffectual and a waste of time.
JOSEPH WALKER
Sherbourne, England

How many body bags will it take to convince President Bush of the insanity of his continued occupation of Iraq? By early May, 750 Americans had died. No one is counting the Iraqi dead, the broken homes and devastated families. And all for what? To place a few handpicked American apologists in power? To siphon off Iraq's oil for private, selfish ends? The principal thing that the U.S. has brought to Iraq is death and destruction.
RALPH OMOREGIE
Lagos

It is ironic that the U.S., a nation that historically has been averse to involvement in foreign wars, is almost the only one with the capability and will to win a war abroad. It is even more ironic that the U.S., a nation that has benefited from a peaceful, democratic society, seems unable to build a society based on similar values elsewhere.
CHARLES GARNER
Ascot, England

Give Peace a Chance

Your notebook item "A Truce On Terror" [May 3] stated that the cease-fire between the Pakistani military and pro al-Qaeda fighters "could be a severe setback for the Bush Administration, which has been leaning on Pakistan to carry out a clean sweep of al-Qaeda and the Taliban from the tribal territory." It also stated that "the truce raises doubts about the resolve of the Pakistanis to root out al-Qaeda fugitives from the tribal areas." But violence only begets violence. In the Iraqi town of Fallujah, Americans were fighting the so-called liberated Iraqis, whereas in the Waziristan area of Pakistan, the Pakistan army is fighting its own citizens. It is better to resolve an issue through negotiation than through violence. The sooner the Americans learn this lesson, the better.
AFTAB AHMAD KHAN
Lahore

Think Better, Not Bigger

In "Condi: The Problem With Big Thinkers" [April 19], columnist Joe Klein contended that in the Bush Administration strategy overwhelms tactical thinking. But exactly which strategy would that be? Strategy involves some sort of relationship between intentions and accomplishments, between ends and means. You do not find that balance in the Bush Administration's planning. The result is not a bad strategy but no strategy at all. War is the continuation of politics by other means. Didn't the U.S. learn anything from Vietnam?
CLAUDIO LEMA POSE
Curacao, Netherlands Antilles

Birthing Methods

I couldn't help bristling at your report on the increase in elective caesarean births [April 19]. The privileged mothers-to-be who insist on being in charge of every aspect of their baby's birth are exceptionally arrogant. Here in Africa, for too many women, having a baby can still be a matter of life and death.
WENDY TOERIEN
Cape Town

America Goes Bollywood

In "A Cultural Grand Salaam" [MAY 3], you finally reported on the growing popularity in the U.S of the music, movies and literature of South Asia! It is difficult to convey the beauty and creative power of the subcontinent to my American friends, most of whom barely know where South Asia is located. It's time they learned about my culture and the irresistible tunes in Bollywood musicals.
MONIKA MATHUR
Southbury, Conn.