Inbox

Hope for Afghanistan
Re your story on efforts to build schools in Afghanistan and encourage girls into education [Jan. 28]: Having built or repaired 27 schools in north-central Afghanistan over the past six years, I can confirm that education is a step toward eliminating poverty, oppression and extremism. We have seen remarkable social, political and economic changes in the more than 20,000 children we represent, particularly the girls. They are marrying later and having fewer children. Families are healthier and mortality rates have fallen. Children are learning much-needed life skills. More importantly, there is now hope. Despite staggering odds, kids are thinking about the future. There is new respect for the rule of law and support for democracy. Communities that have fought for years have laid down their weapons. Children are learning common languages and even playing soccer together. Schools in Afghanistan are not simply teaching the three Rs; they are nation building.
Julia M. Bolz, Founder Journey with an Afghan School,
Seattle

Tribes and Tribulations
Only a miracle could unite the tribes of Africa [Jan. 21]. Poverty and corruption are but consequences of the chaotic tribal situation that does not allow for a working society. Politicians pretend to work with other tribes until they manage to unseat the ruling party, after which their alliances self-destruct-with now familiar results.
Jan Posma,
Wezep, The Netherlands

The Dance with Iran
In "Rethinking Iran," Samantha power asserted that Washington "supported" Osama bin Laden during the 1980s [Jan. 28]. This is a canard that has been pushed by numerous conspiracy theorists. As terrorism expert Peter Bergen has stated, it is a "folk myth" without a shred of evidence to support it. The 9/11 commission came to similar conclusions and noted that the CIA viewed bin Laden and his so-called Arab Afghans as "militarily insignificant" to the war against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. It is unfortunate that a scholar like Power decided to repeat this legend.
James McKay,
Alexandria, Virginia

Power recommends engaging Iran, including high-level negotiations. It's not very reassuring to see how little we've learned from history. The ghost of Neville Chamberlain rides again.
Greg Lifschultz,
Rowlett, Texas

This article focused on the history of the Bush Administration but ignored the history of Iran's mullahs. Iran's intentions have been plain and clear for decades: subvert and destroy. Why put our future in their hands? Every ounce of uranium they enrich brings them closer to having the Bomb. We must stop them. Peaceful coexistence with a Bomb-equipped Iran is a fool's dream with deadly consequences.
Jerome Ellard,
Big Sandy, Texas

Insight from Albright
Thank you for publishing Madeleine Albright's brilliant insights [Jan. 21]. I've been a lawyer in private practice for 25 years. Never before have I heard it plainly said that women who want respect from male colleagues should interrupt them. The next time I interrupt a pontificating male opponent, I will not feel so guilty. Albright is a genius, and TIME deserves credit for giving her the opportunity to share what she knows.
Judith Neustadter Naone,
Maui, Hawaii

Albright had it wrong in explaining how President George W. Bush will be judged. She incorrectly said "this presidency has done a great deal of damage" to the U.S.'s international reputation. She must be confusing this presidency with the media, which continually bash the very country that gives them the freedom to do so. Shame on Albright for blaming the media's mistakes on Bush.
Jennifer Crake,
Knoxville, Tennessee

A Global Appetite
Joel Stein is obviously a person with extremely sophisticated tastes and the wherewithal to indulge them [Jan. 21]. He is also a glutton who does not seem to grasp the fact that supporting local agriculture is not just about feeding the body. It is about supporting the independence of a critical resource — local agriculture — while maintaining a personal connection with the soil, air and water, as well as the farmers who grow the food. The locavore approach is food to sustain your spirit as well as your body.
Richard Peterson,
Wewela, South Dakota

As a professional food technologist for more than 55 years, I have been dismayed that my children and grandchildren are fed the propaganda that processed foods cause all of the currently prevalent diseases. People today are bigger, stronger and smarter than they used to be and are living longer, healthier lives. Despite all the headlines, our food supply is the safest in world history.
Aaron L. Brody, Ph.D., President and CEO, Packaging/Brody Inc.,
Duluth, Georgia

When my son brought home organic vegetables he'd picked from a local farm, I made soup with them that same night. I was startled to discover how much better than usual the soup tasted. While I could find many fronts on which to argue with Stein — who probably wrote the article just to be contrary — his contention that people who care about the environment measure improvement by self-denial didn't make sense to me. That organic, local soup was absolutely delicious and didn't require any sacrifice on my part at all.
Heather Manchester,
Irvine, California

As an American globetrotter who has lived in Europe for the past 35 years, I support Stein's "extreme eating." But his closing claim — that buying food from abroad is "the only way we Americans learn about other countries, other than by bombing them" — was extremely unfair. While growing up, I learned about other countries from family, friends, lovers, travel and academic activities. My maternal grandmother was born in Finland, my maternal grandfather in Russia. Both paternal grandparents were first-generation Italian Americans. I was taught to ride a bicycle by a German-born youth, two of my best girlfriends were born in Armenia and Greece, two of my closest boyfriends were from the Netherlands and former Yugoslavia, and my first employer had emigrated from Lebanon. So please tell Stein to add an American mud pie to his dessert list.
Elizabeth Valentine-Thon,
Bremen, Germany

Friends of Hill
Joe Klein postulated that senator Hillary Clinton has a constituency among the women of America [Jan. 21]. Clinton showed us how she treated the working women (and men) in the White House travel-office scandal — they were fired without a thought. Similarly, Whitewater and the apologies for Bill's philandering hardly showed a concern for the little people. If working women expect Clinton to look out for them, they are in trouble.
Patrick Johnson,
East Helena, Montana

After working for many years in information technology, where I found advancement for a woman could be difficult, I better understand what Clinton is up against. She will have to redefine the role of President. We have women governors, mayors and Senators, but we have never had a woman President. Men have defined the role. Can a woman be the Commander in Chief and feminine at the same time? I believe it's possible. Clinton would be wise to consider Golda Meir and Margaret Thatcher as her role models.
Crysti Klinker,
Seattle

It seems that clinton really did find her voice. It is the voice of a shrew: harsh, aggressive, accusatory. It shows us who this woman really is and what a mistake it would be to vote for her. It also shows us the desperation of the Clintons, who have planned so long to extend their dynasty but now face a real threat in Obama. Let's hope this is one shrew that Obama can tame.
Alan Moen,
Entiat, Washington

Green from Top to Bottom
I really enjoyed the article on cloth diapers [Jan. 21]. Even though I didn't think I'd like cloth diapers, I've been using them on my daughter for a year and would never go back to disposables. I think that you missed a big part of the story, though. A lot of these diapers are handmade by work-at-home mothers and are available on the Internet. Parents who buy cloth diapers will not only help the environment but support work-at-home mothers too.
Taryn Dwyer,
Arvada, Colorado