The Way Out of the Middle East Mess

As the fighting between Israel and Hizballah forces in southern Lebanon raged, our reporting sized up Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s strategy, peered into Hizballah’s inner workings and outlined six keys to peace. Readers were polarized in their criticism of the warring parties and their respective allies

Israel is fighting a war deliberately provoked by Iran and Syria via terrorist organizations (Hizballah and Hamas) that aim to eliminate the sole legitimate democracy in that part of the world [July 31]. Instead of blaming Israel, Western democracies should stand up for it, because they will be the next targets of terrorism. What have the U.N. and the West done to secure peace in the six years since Israel pulled out of Lebanon? Nothing, except allow Hizballah to build up its military. It is scandalous and hypocritical to demand that Israel forfeit its right to destroy Hizballah.
Philippe Luginbuhl
Bern, Switzerland

The war in Lebanon and northern Israel might have been avoided had the Bush Administration not given the cold shoulder to Iran and Syria. And the U.S. might have been able to wield some influence had it not been embroiled in a civil war in Iraq. We don’t have to wait to learn what the legacy of the Bush Administration will be. We can see it now in all the blood being spilled and the destruction happening in Israel, Lebanon and Iraq.
Erik Stottrup
Waupaca, Wisconsin, U.S.

The delay in diplomatic engagement, the failure to press for an immediate cease-fire, the refusal to condemn Israel for heinous attacks on civilians and disruption of humanitarian relief: such tactics further reveal the Bush Administration’s Middle East policy for the ethically bankrupt disaster it has always been.
Charles Bergman
Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.

The U.S. has shown that it is not serious about winning the war against terrorism. By refusing to act in the face of Israel’s excessive use of military force against innocent Lebanese women and children, the U.S. has succeeded only in creating more Islamic militants. What Israel is doing in Lebanon can be equated with terrorism. The U.S. must always lead by example and show the world that it has a soul. America’s defense of freedom and human rights should not be selective.
Obiora Muanya
Port Harcourt, Nigeria

Your photographs of the destruction in Lebanon took me back to World War II and images of the devastation in Europe. But sadder still were the pictures of the young boys in Hizballah’s al-Mahdi scout club being taught to hate their fellow man. They are being robbed of their childhood and often their life too, all in the name of religion.
Derek J. Waite
Toronto

As the saying goes, it is better to allow 1,000 criminals to go free than convict one innocent person. But the Israelis have turned that maxim on its head: they seem to think it is better to kill 1,000 blameless civilians than allow one terrorist to go free. The Israelis have suffered in the past, yet that does not give them the right to inflict so much pain and suffering on innocent people. Such cruelty leads nowhere.
Giorgos Matskalidis
Florina, Greece

Knowing the history of the region, how could President Bush respond to the crisis in Lebanon by simply saying Israel has a right to defend itself? He gave a green light to the excessive use of force. The price will be continued fighting for generations. This Administration is a terrible disaster for those of us who believed in the America of “a thousand points of light.”
Jacques Jobin
L’Ange-Gardien, Canada

time referred to Hizballah’s “struggle with Israel.” What exactly is Hizballah struggling for? Israel pulled out of every last inch of Lebanese territory in 2000. Hizballah is a terrorist organization, armed to the teeth by Iran and Syria and firing rockets into Israel to maim and kill as many civilians as possible. In no way can this murderous aggression be considered a “struggle.”
Larry Bigio
Zichron Yaakov, Israel

Israel has long been the main target of Islamic terrorists, but it became clear on Sept. 11, 2001, that every Western country is threatened. The present war in the Middle East is actually a war against international terrorism and the Iranian regime, which is a threat to all of the West. One day the world will recognize the importance of that fight and Israel’s essential contribution.
Aurélie Simonet
Geneva, Switzerland

The College Gender Gap
Barbara Ehrenreich’s essay about boys goofing off at college while girls are overachieving was nothing more than the flip side of the stories during the 1950s and ’60s that claimed women went to college only to find husbands [July 31]. I didn’t care to be stereotyped that way back then, and as the mother of 18-year-old twin sons who are honor students, eagle scouts, Young Democrats and all-around solid citizens, I deeply resent such a demeaning picture of the current crop of young men. Surely there are also plenty of unfocused, lazy, binge-drinking young women on today’s campuses.
Christina M. Kapma
Springfield, Ohio, U.S.

Ehrenreich accurately observed that many American men shy away from careers that demand evidence of academic performance. Where she fell short, however, was in her failure to address why that is so. Doesn’t she think male underachievement is a problem? She seemed to enjoy the fact that in our feminized culture, when it comes to higher education, the average guy is truly left behind.
Paul V. Phillipino
Falmouth, Massachusetts, U.S.

Isn’t it strange that just when more women than ever graduate from college and university, their degrees seem to count for nothing? Suddenly, no matter how good your grades are or how many projects you have worked on, what really counts are soft skills such as likability and positive attitude. But will all those guys with winning personalities manage to keep companies up and running?
Ines Bouhannani
Shannon, Ireland

Iconic Wannabe
time‘s verbatim column quoted rich socialite Paris Hilton, who said, “Every decade has an iconic blond like Marilyn Monroe or Princess Diana, and right now I’m that icon” [July 31]. Was she kidding? Hilton couldn’t hold the handbags of those women. They were just as beautiful on the inside as on the outside. Hilton is no more than a lifeless doll.
Tiffany Service
Utica, New York, U.S.

Every time she opens her mouth, Hilton proves that money and privilege do not buy class.
Lisa Fulford
Orlando, Florida, U.S.

The War That Never Ends
The seething hatred in the Middle East [July 24] 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 act to stop the carnage once and for all.
Greg Murphy
Halifax, Canada

Time to Hang Up the Spurs?
time criticized bush’s unilateral foreign policy [July 17]. But your story demonstrated the ineffectiveness of multilateral diplomacy by pointing out that “since joining multilateral talks over Iran and North Korea, the U.S. has failed to persuade Russia and China, who wield veto power in the U.N. Security Council, to agree to specific sanctions against either Tehran or Pyongyang.” So far, it would seem, multilateral diplomacy is batting zero.
Carol Jarrard
Augusta, Georgia, U.S.

This administration’s “cowboy diplomacy” might have been more successful if not for terribly flawed decisions and planning (or lack thereof), corruption, the sanction of immoral practices and a recklessness with the lives of our military personnel.
Robert Berg
La Luz, New Mexico, U.S.

While brute reality has forced the U.S. to use diplomacy abroad, the President’s swaggering arrogance is still alive and well at home. To paraphrase a line from an old western, Bush seems to think Washington ain’t big enough for three branches of government. Bush ignores established law and subverts congressional legislation with signing statements. I half expected to hear him repeat his famous words “Bring ’em on” in response to the recent attempts, however feeble, by Congress and the courts to rein in his power.
Gayle Bell
Winter Park, Florida, U.S.