Letters

Our special package scrutinizing the latest chapter in the Middle East conflict and various proposals for bringing peace to the region provoked impassioned responses. Many deplored the tactics used by both sides

The moral equivalence assigned to Israel and Hizballah in Lisa Beyer’s article “Hate Thy Neighbor” [July 24] was disgusting. Hizballah is a terrorist organization that targets innocent civilians with its rockets. Israel is a democratic nation-state with the right of self-defense. Comparing the two is akin to saying the U.S. and al-Qaeda are on the same moral plane. The U.S. does not negotiate with terrorists, and neither should Israel. Matt Lakemacher
Round Lake Beach, Illinois

I find it hard to understand how civilized countries in the 21st century can conduct or condone such massive collective punishment of the Lebanese people. The force being applied by Israel is grossly disproportionate to the threat it faces. To see that, one need only compare casualty figures of the two countries. As one who still believes in international law, I can only hope that those who have perpetuated or assisted in this tragedy will be held accountable. L. Michael Hager
Former Director General International Development Law Organization
Washington

It would be nice if once, just once, the world stood by Israel and supported its actions. This time the main criticism seems to be that Israel’s reaction has not been proportional. What is proportional? Should Israel have kidnapped two Hizballah fighters in return? Would that have resolved anything? While there are extremists on all sides, the majority of Israelis, Palestinians and Lebanese want to live in peace with one another. We will be able to lead normal, quiet lives only if we stand up to terrorists. Illana Karman
Beersheba, Israel

According to TIME’s cover story, “It’s not Clear that Anyone has the Ability to Get the Belligerents to Calm Down” in the Middle East. Fortunately, that is completely false. For one, the U.S. could simply tell Israel to stop bombing Lebanon and Gaza or forfeit military aid. Israel would have no choice but to comply. The fact that the Bush Administration has not pursued that avenue to peace indicates that its stated priorities are not its actual goals. Feroze Sidhwa
Sugar Land, Texas

The seething hatred in the middle East has been festering for far too long. The rich and powerful nations of the world must band together under the banner of the U.N. and stop the carnage once and for all. Greg Murphy
Halifax, Canada

If Hizballah’s kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers gives Israel the right to bomb Lebanon, destroy bridges, blow up an international airport, blockade ports and tell people to leave their homes, then why is it wrong for Hizballah to launch rockets into Israel? Since this war started, far more Lebanese civilians have been killed than have Hizballah militants. The war needs to end now. There must be a cease-fire before even more innocents die. Sara Faruqiv Karachi, Pakistan

America and Americans command and, in a sense, demand sympathy when they are in trouble. After 9/11, the world grieved with the U.S. So why don’t we see an outpouring of sympathy from Americans for the Lebanese and Palestinians who are being blown apart with Washington’s tacit blessing? David Albuquerque
Algester, Australia

Israel’s attacks against the infrastructure and civilians of Lebanon are absolutely disproportionate and lacking in basic human consideration. The kidnapping or killing of two or three soldiers in no way excuses the slaughter of hundreds of civilians. Israel is not playing fair. Iñaki Lopez de Luzuriaga
San Sebastián, Spain

I am disgusted by the British government’s weak response to Israel’s disproportionate bully-boy attacks on Lebanon. While hundreds of innocent Lebanese are being slaughtered, Tony Blair wrings his hands and utters a few platitudes to the dead and dying. And the U.S., with its blatant support of Israeli aggression, has relinquished any hope of being an honest broker between the Jewish state and the Arab world. There can be no peace in the Middle East until Palestinians have justice. What Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has done will make neither Israel nor the rest of the world more secure from violence, hatred and terrorism. Garth Groombridge
Southampton, England

Your article “Hate thy Neighbor” did an excellent job of summarizing the situation in the Middle East, but the statement that “Bush has showed no interest in [negotiating], and Washington is handicapped by its unwillingness to negotiate with four of the key players” misses the point. The only way to establish peace in the region is to eliminate terrorism, both by destroying terrorist infrastructure and by ensuring that terrorism is never rewarded. Stopping the violence and forcing negotiations before that is accomplished will put us in the same situation a few years down the road. Preventing Israel from destroying terrorists is not in the interest of peace. Bruce Dov Krulwich
Beit Shemesh, Israel

There is only one way to stop the war in Lebanon. To achieve peace, Israel should withdraw from occupied lands, free prisoners and demand the return of kidnapped soldiers. Thinking that one side can actually win a war is the greatest illusion of all time. Hellmuth ten Siethoff
Entrecasteaux, France

The Iran Factor
In his column on Iran’s role in the Middle East conflict [July 24], Joe Klein wove speculation and conjecture into a grand theory that it is all George W. Bush’s fault. We are at war with a fanatic totalitarian movement, the aim of which is nothing less than the destruction of the West. Yes, Bush might have made many mistakes, but does Klein really believe that without Bush in office, Iran’s President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, would act more rationally? Thomas A. Edelman
Santa Monica, California

Would negotiations with Iran and Hizballah persuade them to give up their attempts to wipe Israel off the map? I doubt that. History teaches us that it is important to believe the declared intentions of megalomaniacs. Jeffrey Fillman
Boston

As long as the U.S. gives substantial amounts of military and economic aid to Israel, America is going to be blamed for any atrocities that are committed. We need to look at what is right for the U.S., then worry about everyone else. Joy Cassell
Orlando, Florida

Klein states that “no one really does know who runs Iran.” As an Iranian who lived there for 15 years, I would say that the Islamic Republic is directly controlled by Supreme Leader Ayatullah Ali Khamenei and that President Ahmadinejad is merely a mascot for the regime. That type of government is a simple dictatorship. Aryan Mojtahedi
Montreal

Finding the Way to Peace
Robert Malley’s viewpoint on U.S. policy in the Middle East [July 24] is absurd. According to his theory, the next logical step would be for the Bush Administration to start peace negotiations with the Taliban, Iraqi insurgents and even Osama bin Laden. Can you imagine what the world would be like today if F.D.R. had decided to negotiate with Japan and Nazi Germany? David Holtzer
Kibbutz Urim, Israel

As a concerned citizen of the middle East, I am heartened by Malley’s understanding of the roots of conflict in the region. Bombing people into democracy is the epitome of hypocrisy and has led the U.S. down a disastrous road before. A just and fair solution that protects the interests of all is the only way to a sustainable peace. Fawaz Shalan
Amman

Smiling Through Surgery
Re Michael Kinsley’s essay written in anticipation of brain surgery [July 24]: I again see the man I frequently admired on the television program Crossfire, someone with whom I disagreed politically but who was analytical and fair. I think that better understanding our frailty helps us keep a balanced perspective. I hope that he continues along that path. As a Republican, I would welcome the old Kinsley back. Bill Kistulinec
Warren, New Jersey

It is not often that one is confronted with mortality in such stark terms. I recently lost my father and then became a grandfather within a month of his passing. Time is so fleeting and so precious. I pray Kinsley has a speedy recovery. Joseph Bichler
Grand Rapids, Michigan

SYD’S SOUND SURVIVES
The death of Syd Barrett, a founding member of Pink Floyd, had fans remembering when the band was young. Our Feb. 25, 1980, story on the album The Wall underscored how the trippy troubadours maintained their psychedelic sound:

“Pink Floyd still machine-tools the kind of head-shop Muzak that they helped pioneer during the first shocks of the ’60s psychedelic movement … The Dark Side of the Moon has sold 61/2 million copies in the U.S. since its release, has been on the charts for 299 weeks and recently rose from the nether regions to occupy a respectable place in the middle ground. This late burst of activity is directly traceable to the surprise success of the new Pink Floyd album, The Wall … Spacy and seductive and full of high-tech sound stunts, The Wall has a kind of smothering sonic energy that can be traced to The Dark Side of the Moon and even past that, to the band’s early days on the psychedelic front lines. To fans, this continuity must be just as reassuring as the trendiness [Roger] Waters has grafted onto his lyrics, which are a kind of libretto for Me-decade narcissism. Says Tom Morrera, disc jockey at New York City’s pacesetting WNEW-FM: ‘The Floyd are not as spacy as they used to be. They’re doing art for art’s sake, and you don’t have to be high to get it. They’ll take you on a trip anyway.'” Read more at timearchive.com.