The Long Goodbye

Although Michael Duffy's thoughts on "How to Walk Away" from Iraq made sense, I beg to differ with him on the timing and pace of withdrawing troops [July 30]. While it is crucial that they leave in an orderly fashion, the sooner they depart, the better. A U.N. task force should be assigned to guard Iraq's borders and prevent a regional conflict. Iraq's neighbors and the world powers should launch an intensive diplomatic effort to help the Iraqis sort out their disagreements. They are best qualified to construct the democratic unified nation they aspire to after Saddam Hussein.
Samih A. Sherif, MONTREUX, SWITZERLAND

I had hoped that with constant pressure, President George W. Bush would do what most Americans have come to believe is right: bring the U.S. troops home. But my hopes dimmed after reading the cover story. Although congressional Democrats and the majority of Americans may demand a withdrawal, it is not going to happen before Bush leaves office in January 2009. His Administration is operating on the premise that it is worth every cost to avoid anything that could cause a war among Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia, all top oil producers.
Olutayo Oluyemi, NEW YORK CITY

Private-Equity Perks
Michael Kinsley's article on the unfairly advantageous tax treatment that super-rich private-equity managers are fighting to preserve was interesting [July 30]. But we should already know that greed can corrupt otherwise good men. The real problem is that some Senators support those people in their fight to maintain this blatantly unfair tax treatment. The lost trust of our elected officials poses a much greater threat to our democracy than a little blinding greed in the private sector, which is just an unfortunate side effect of capitalism.
John Kissane, NEW YORK CITY

The private-equity princes and their brethren in the venture-capital world are in the business of creating, not redistributing, wealth and income. The considerable taxes this wealth generates are therefore additive to the federal treasury. Before we label people like the Blackstone Group's Peter G. Peterson "pigs," maybe we should wait to see how much they give to charities. My guess is that the charities they fund will spend those dollars much more efficiently than the porkers who control Congress.
John Crawford, WESTFIELD, N.J., U.S.

Indelible Class Lines
Michael Elliott's contentions that "Britain is now just about as open and classless a society as the U.S." and that Victoria and David Beckham's habits are more typical than those of Harry Potter were surely oversimplified [July 30]. The Beckhams' wealth is as unattainable for most as any that was accrued throughout the empire's history. The rich-poor gap in Britain is huge these days. At least public schools were honest about their snobbery. Nowadays we tend to be patronized into believing that it's all there for us if we'd just work a little bit harder. But try telling that to those on the breadline.
Simon Bell, COVENTRY, ENGLAND

Canines Vick-timized
I suspect that you used the euphemism "put down" to arouse the anger of your readers not already incensed by the allegations against Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick [July 30]. I'll bite. If the charges are true, the dogs at his kennel were not put down, they were killed, pure and simple. Vick apparently joins a long list of pampered, overcompensated athletes and celebrities who believe that they are exempt from the standards of decent and responsible behavior expected of the rest of society.
Paul R. Corradini, ELMIRA, N.Y., U.S.