Quotes of the Day

Kudos to TIME for getting it right on Afghanistan [April 20]. Cash-for-work job programs are the best initial solution in a country where Taliban commanders, financed by opium and other illegal activities, are buying the loyalty of poverty-stricken young men. It may come as a surprise to many Americans that fitness and weight-lifting are fast-growing crazes in Kabul, and a popular cult figure is California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. To many young Afghans, he embodies the virtues of discipline, goal-setting and accomplishment. Afghans prefer the U.S. to the Taliban, but they have suffered too long from 40% unemployment and a reconstruction that never arrived.
Ralph Lopez, CAMBRIDGE, MASS., U.S.

I was struck by the shortsightedness of the government's policy in forcing the Korengal Valley to stop producing timber. It seems extremely foolish to deny people access to jobs and money when the alternative for them is to join the enemy. The same applies to the opium trade. It would be better for Western governments to buy the crop above the black-market price for their pharmaceutical industries, even if it meant stockpiling or perhaps destroying some of the final product. The war cannot be won; the best that can be achieved is for the allies to hold the fort while every attempt is made to give the country some semblance of order. Buying a few tons of opium is likely to come cheaper in terms of both money and human life than the campaign has so far proved.
Philip Foster, NARBONNE, FRANCE

The truth of what is happening in Afghanistan was laid out during recent gatherings held by the advocacy group Iraq Veterans Against the War, during which vets testified to the brutality of the occupation. Hamid Karzai's government is just like the puppet regimes the U.S. set up in South Vietnam. And as in Vietnam, civilians are being massacred by U.S. troops. The media will deny it until, like My Lai, it becomes too big to be denied. While I heartily disagree with its policies, even the Taliban would be better for Afghanistan than the U.S.'s self-serving occupation.
Hannah Morong, MARBLEHEAD, MASS., U.S.

Democracy in South Africa
Re "Why South Africa's Over the Rainbow" [April 20]. While the concern around a Zuma presidency is warranted, opposition parties to the ANC will fight to prevent the country sliding into chaos. South Africa is the greatest country in Africa, and is worth fighting for.
S.K. Sonderup, PORT ELIZABETH, SOUTH AFRICA

Alex Perry's story falsely characterizes the ANC as being in political and moral decline. Granted, South Africa is in the process of democratizing, and mistakes have been made, but the beauty of democracy is that it is inherently self-correcting. The formation of splinter groups such as the Congress of the People is a clear sign that, 15 years after liberation, South Africa's democracy still works and that the ANC will never monopolize power at the cost of democracy.
Tshilidzi Marwala, JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA

It was enlightening but disheartening to learn that a common thread runs through the African continent. Nigeria has also had its fair share of revolutionaries turned dictators. But all is not lost. African leaders must learn from the example of the current governor of Lagos State, Babatunde Fashola who, in the little time since assuming office, has done more to improve Lagos (especially places once thought the most irredeemable) than others have done in two terms. He is more action, less talk. They must especially copy his maxim to serve the people rather than rule them. This is the key to good governance and accountability.
Efuntomi Akpeneye, LAGOS, NIGERIA

IMF Loans
Peter Gumbel's "IMF 2.0" fully captures the sentiment and distrust of developing economies toward the IMF, and the negative impact on people's lives of corrupt and inept government officials' dealings with the IMF [April 20]. Certain governments in Africa took IMF loans on behalf of their people who then suffered the debt with neither accountability nor the hoped for development. Now the loan conditions are being relaxed, the IMF must ensure that loans do not get to corrupt governments anymore, and where they do, the loans must be accounted for with development projects and fiscal responsibility.
Obinna Wachuku, ABUJA

• Democracy in South Africa; IMF Loans