More War or Less
Sir: If we are coming to realize the gravity of the situation in Viet Nam [Feb. 12], we may even learn a lesson from history: wars are not avoided by appeasement. We failed to stand firm in Eastern Europe, China and Cuba, and Communism has continued its advance. In Viet Nam it would be far better to face the enemy now rather than later, when he may be able to threaten us with nuclear arms. We are engaged in mortal combat with a despicable, determined and desperate foe, and should neither give nor seek quarter.
ANDREW F. DEMPSEY JR. Lieutenant, U.S.M.C.
Jacksonville, N.C.
Sir: In determining its policy in Asia the U.S. must either forever give Red China what it demands or draw the line. I concur with Richard Nixon [Feb. 5] that now is the time to take a stand.
WALLACE ELTON
Hanover, N.H.
Sir: Nixon's use of the floundering war in Viet Nam for political hay is to be deplored. His proposal, if carried out. would perhaps not involve us in a hot war with Red China, but it would certainly earn us the lasting hatred and mistrust of millions of Southeast Asians.
MARIE ROZE
Maywood, III.
Sir: An appropriate commentary on the Viet Nam situation is to be found on the monument at Concord Bridge near Boston in memory of the British soldiers who died fighting the American rebels:
They came three thousand miles and died
To keep the past upon its throne.
PAUL JEWELL
Tucson, Ariz.
Sir: How to save South Viet Nam: send American aid to North Viet Nam instead of South Viet Nam. Soon coups, Buddhist suicides, riots will occur in North Viet Nam and South Viet Nam will be saved.
FRANK YANG
Rochester
Profits in Russia
Sir: Your cover story on economic reform in the Soviet Union [Feb. 12] was most welcome. By avoiding the inaccurate but oft-heard claim that the Soviet use of a profit measure to judge managerial efficiency is galloping capitalism, your story provided some needed understanding of a commonly misunderstood question. I do not foresee imminent total decentralization. Certainly a balance will be struck. And it will be one in which the political leaders retain control over the direction taken by the economy. In order to improve efficiency, more sensitive methods—those involving decentralized decision making—are needed. The current reforms may well represent a permanent shift to planning methods more appropriate to the present stage of development of the Russian economy.
HERBERT S. LEVINE
University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia
Sir: More significant than the Russians' turn to the profit system is, in my opinion, the fact that the pros and cons of the system are being openly debated within the Soviet Union.
RICHARD D. MARTIN
Arlington, Va.
The Bright Brass
Sir: Your cover story on the Joint Chiefs of Staff [Feb. 5] reminded me of President Kennedy's words to the graduating class at West Point in 1962: "The non-military problems which you will face will also be most demanding—diplomatic, political and economic." Your well-considered article should be required reading for all junior officers who aspire to the lofty positions you describe.
PATRICK E. WYNNE Lieutenant, U.S.A.F.
Chandler, Ariz.