Letters: Aug. 28, 2006

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Re Mike Allen's White House memo [Aug. 7]: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice should be congratulated for wanting something more than a quick-fix, Band-Aid solution to the Middle East conflict. Diplomacy can work only if both sides abandon their unattainable goals, stop squandering their wealth and their children's future in pointless conflict, and start exhibiting the maturity needed to reach a compromise. ROY WESTON Burnaby, B.C.

Rice's style of diplomacy is stalled at the level of a sixth-grader. Girls that age start making two lists: one naming their best friends and an even longer one of the people they will never, ever talk to. Rice and President Bush are best friends, but the list of people, parties, organizations and countries they won't talk to is endless. It's time they grew up. DANUTE V. HANDY Santa Barbara, Calif.

Radical Islam vs. the U.S.

Columnist Charles Krauthammer argued that the Middle East is a new front in the U.S. war on Islamic terrorism [Aug. 7]. After mocking radical Islamists for daring to call for a return of land that was under their control more than 600 years ago, Krauthammer pointed out the irrationality of such an agenda and called the struggle against it "enduringly surreal." Welcome to the disorienting surreality many of us have experienced in trying to figure out why Zionists feel they can lay claim to the Holy Land, which they have not possessed for two millenniums. (THE REV.) TIMOTHY M. SOLOMON Meadville, Pa.

Krauthammer invoked the wisdom of history by alluding to "the century-old Arab-Israeli dispute." The history lesson he conveniently omitted, however, is 15 centuries of anti-Semitism by Christian Europe, without which there might never have been an Arab-Israeli dispute. Europe needs to take more responsibility. And the U.S. needs to refrain from characterizing the conflict as solely the fault of terrorists. STEVE WALACH Pawtucket, R.I.

Hollywood's Meek Men

Belinda Luscombe's essay "Where Have All the Gary Grants Gone?" [Aug. 7] certainly struck a chord with me. Not only do movies depict men in a generally negative manner, but sitcoms and TV commercials also consistently portray them as jerks, losers or lascivious oafs. They have become embarrassing to watch. CAROLE O'BRIEN Avenel, N.J.

Cary Grants? There aren't even any Harrison Fords in movies anymore. STEVE CORSO Sayville, N.Y.