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I marveled at how eloquently Strauch was able to describe her feelings. As a 33-year-old New Yorker who lost nothing more than his sense of self-assurance, I find pure inspiration and hope for my own future as well as this great country's, given the likes of Hilary. ROBERT MOSES New York City
The Future of Ground Zero
I wholeheartedly agree with former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani that ground zero should be a memorial and only that [ESSAY, Sept. 9]. I envision a building with an atrium at its center, a quiet oasis where visitors can come and be alone with their thoughts or share them with others. On the walls would be the names of the victims. We should listen to Giuliani; he knows more than most about the unbelievable horror of that September day and the unselfish courage that so many displayed. MARY GRACE DEMBECK Westport, Conn.
I am doing my part to rebuild our city by working to rebuild and reoccupy my home on Liberty Street. Now the powers that be need to do their part and rebuild 16 acres of very special ground. Bringing life back to the World Trade Center site will honor those who died while simply living their lives. The site is a murder scene, not a burial ground. I hope the decision makers consider their plans wisely--and not just emotionally. DAVID STANKE New York City
Unforgettable Images
Eugene Richards' photographs are astonishingly beautiful, empathic, eerie and direct [PHOTO ESSAY, Sept. 9]. All the pictures in the anniversary issue gave me the chance to try to wrap my mind around the inconceivable, and reminded me that we longingly reach for the past as, like it or not, we are inevitably edged forward. DEBORAH S. ROGERS Lansdale, Pa.
Widening the War
RE John McCain's comments about regime change in Iraq [ESSAY, Sept. 9]: Here in mainland Europe, many believe that George W. Bush and his belligerent backers confuse emotive warmongering with legitimate patriotism. Senior U.S. foreign policy experts are rightly concerned about the shaky justifiability of an invasion of Iraq.
Frankly, I wonder why President Bush focuses most of his energy on an invasion of Iraq when the U.S. economy is ailing and its national security is tattered. The Sept. 11 terrorists came from several Middle Eastern and North African countries, but there wasn't a single Iraqi citizen among them. M. NICOLAS FIRZLI, CHAIRMAN CANADIAN EUROPEAN ECONOMIC COUNCIL Paris
Girl Meets World
Sana Shah, the 16-year-old Pakistani girl whom you profile in "MTV or the Muezzin" [11 LIVES, THE MUSLIM TEEN, Sept. 9], describes her and her friends' reaction to the Sept. 11 attacks: "A lot of us thought the Trade Center bombings would make the U.S. more aware of what is going on in the world, of the frustrations that Muslims feel." Shah should consider that our previous President spent much of his political capital trying to establish a Palestinian state; that the U.S. has for decades been allies with Muslim Pakistan; and that in Kosovo, America intervened with the military to save the Muslims. There is ample reason to be frustrated over these issues, but to direct those frustrations at the U.S. is to accept at face value the ideology of extremists and ignore the facts. BENJAMIN KLAFTER San Francisco
Correction