Letters

  • (3 of 4)

    School for Insurgency

    "The Lessons of Najaf" [AUG. 30] described the flip-flops of the rebellious cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and his Mahdi Army. Slowly but surely, Iraq is becoming a Shi'ite theocracy like that of Iran. There is absolutely nothing the U.S. can do about it. This change is due in part to the ever growing influence of Grand Ayatullah Ali Husaini Sistani, to whom the Iraqi government turned in order to broker an end to the rebellion in Najaf. Isn't that ironic, since it was Iran and not Iraq that sheltered al-Qaeda operatives? The so-called axis of evil will only be strengthened by America's shortsighted actions.
    BASTIAN BIRKENHAEGER
    Friedrichsdorf, Germany

    Olympian Heights

    The ideals of the Olympic games are certainly worthwhile: sportsmanship, athletic prowess and opportunities for people from many nations and cultures to meet [Aug. 30]. What's wrong is the goal of constantly setting new world records, on which most athletic competitions, including the Games, are based. That world-record ideology assumes that the human body is capable of infinite development, enabling specially gifted athletes to continue breaking records for all time to come. That expectation is the reason that athletes use performance-enhancing drugs. They know they are not capable of surpassing records without resorting to such drugs. It would be much healthier to forget about world records and let athletes at each Olympic Games compete for records that would be valid only for the Games of that year.
    RALFERD C. FREYTAG
    Victoria, B.C.

    While addressing the audience at the Olympics' closing ceremonies, Jacques Rogge, president of the International Olympic Committee, summed up perfectly: "Greek friends, you have won!" And we did win, despite all the negative, bordering-on-nasty articles in the British and American press. The Athens Games had two tremendous difficulties to overcome: having a small country as host and occurring after 9/11. But both were surmounted. The Games were splendid, they were magic. We Greeks were hospitable, we were proud and, most of all, we had fun.
    CHRYSSANTHI PAPAGEORGOPOULOS
    Luxembourg City

    Protecting the Big Cats

    The effort to save the world's big cats, such as lions, tigers, leopards and jaguars, is carried out in places other than offices in Washington and New York City [Aug. 23]. Although I was heartened to hear of the efforts being made to protect these animals, I was also dismayed not to hear from field conservationists, those on the front lines of the battle. Meetings, policies, scientific papers and money alone do not constitute protection. Ultimately, the dedication of field-based conservators makes the difference between success and failure. People on the job must dodge rebels' bullets each day or face the wrath of a mob led by angry parents who have just lost a child to a big cat. The voices of those in the field should have been heard in your story. They are the true heroes.
    DEVENDRA S. RANA
    Kathmandu, Nepal

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