How to Aid Afghanistan

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"The Right War" is an oxymoron if ever there was one [July 28]. I was born when World War II was raging and served in the military during the Vietnam era. Fortunately, I wasn't called upon to kill or be killed, but tens of thousands of others were. Each side in a war considers its cause to be right, including the Taliban in Afghanistan and al-Qaeda, which call their wars "holy" — another oxymoron. When will people ever learn?
Carlos Carrier, LONG BEACH, CALIF., U.S.

Ideally, Afghanistan's South-Asian neighbors such as India and Pakistan will see their way to overcoming mutual antagonisms and establishing a collective, supplementary reconstruction fund — à la the Marshall Plan — to assist Kabul, but with private direct business investment. (India is booming, after all.) This proposed regional support, which could not as easily be stigmatized as "neocolonial" and therefore would have greater long-term legitimacy, could alleviate the burden on the U.S. and NATO and end up helping heal an otherwise failed and moribund state in a very critical part of our troubled world.
Maurice Kane, SAN DIMAS, CALIF., U.S.

Advice as to where to focus the next Afghan surge or how many more billions we should spend to catch bin Laden is given to our leaders in weekly CIA briefings. Perhaps we should add just one historical fact: for 3,000 years, never has a Western army won a lasting victory on the Asian mainland. Never. So how can we believe war will achieve anything in this 21st century, with economic power surging in China, India and Russia?
Nicolas Gessner, PARIS

Could we get both John McCain and Barack Obama to read Rory Stewart's article on Afghanistan? Stewart is knowledgeable, comprehensive and realistic. We badly need his ideas to be discussed and, more important, implemented, especially in the face of the tactics proposed by both presidential candidates.
Jane Carder, MACON, GA., U.S.

McCain: "But when I am Commander in Chief, there will be nowhere the terrorists can run and nowhere they can hide." Obama: "I will once and for all dismantle al-Qaeda and the Taliban." Talk about overestimating their own powers.
Denver Grigg, CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA

McCain's Bush Problem
No responsible journalist would claim [July 28] that a "McCain presidency would ... bear scant resemblance to the Bush years." McCain has supported Bush legislation 90% of the time, which is hardly scant. Quit cheerleading for McCain.
Jim Harvey, HADLEY, MASS., U.S.

The Louvre Faces the Future
Peter Gumbel's article "Le Louvre Inc." warmed the cockles of my heart [July 28]. It made me feel that my favorite museum is well cared for by its director, Henri Loyrette, who is keeping the Louvre alive and vibrant for the whole world to enjoy. I visit a different section of the Louvre every time I am in Paris, and it will take me a lifetime to see it all — if I ever do. But I am now certain that my grandchildren, their children and all coming generations will also be able to enjoy the world's greatest museum.
Issa Boullata, MONTREAL

Cracking Up is Hard to Do
James Poniewozik asks, "Has America lost its sense of humor?" [July 28]. Yes, thanks to this Administration's politics of fear, division and deceit. Hundreds of thousands of innocent people have died for no apparent reason. And hundreds of thousands of American voters remain devoted to the Administration that caused this carnage. I won't laugh until we get our country back.
Sandy Light, ROANOKE, VA., U.S.

As any comedian will tell you, there is always a joke or two that he wishes he had not told. Not because it wasn't funny but because it was over the top or in poor taste. Let's say the New Yorker decides to run a cover cartoon of Senator McCain in a wheelchair, with his wife Cindy carefully feeding him from an Ensure can so as not to stain his bib. Again, in poor taste. It is often said that when sarcasm misses its mark by a little, it misses by a mile.
Raymond F. Ramirez, MABLETON, GA., U.S.

In the 18th century, Jonathan Swift was criticized for his satirical essay A Modest Proposal, which suggests that poor Irish treat their children like food and sell them to the rich. Swift was not promoting cannibalism or infanticide: he thought his audience would understand the absurdity of such ludicrous ideas. Does the New Yorker really believe Obama is a Muslim extremist and his wife a terrorist? No, but the editors thought Americans were smart enough to interpret the utter ridiculousness as an exaggeration — one that fits well into this increasingly overdramatic presidential campaign.
Lauren Tighe, SAGINAW, MICH., U.S.

New Beliefs
I enjoyed Aravind Adiga's letter "Mystical Mischief" but I cannot decide whether he gets it or not [July 28]! I do not believe in the mumbo jumbo of psychic readings and palmistry, but does he not see that the West now realizes science does not have all the answers? I hope that as India embraces science and all its benefits it does not develop a "consciousness that their old beliefs are antiquated and will pass." That, I am sure, would be a terrible mistake.
Thomas G. Lamont, GLASGOW, SCOTLAND

Zimbabwe's Turmoil
It is time the first world took up arms [July 14] to defend democracy against Mugabe, a dictator who suppresses freedom by torture and murder. If Western nations can fight to defend democracy in Iraq and Afghanistan, then surely they can do the same in Zimbabwe, where a war against Mugabe and his supporters would be over in a week.
Colin Segal, SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA

The African Union [July 14], which espouses democracy and free and fair elections, should have condemned Mugabe and refused to recognize his government. Instead, with the dissent of a few countries, notably Botswana, the Union merely passed a feeble resolution suggesting a government of national unity, which Mugabe in any case would not accept. It is tragic that the A.U. ignored the opportunity to take drastic action. Instead, it has lost whatever credibility it had.
Edward R.C. Preston, AUCKLAND

Surviving Disaster
"How to Survive a Disaster," [june 23] was wrong about fire-drill requirements in New York City. The idea that the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY) opposes such drills is also completely false. REBNY has consistently supported mandatory, semiannual fire drills, as well as evacuation drills. Because of the danger involved with having people travel down as many as 40 to 60 flights of stairs, and after learning that two heart attacks had resulted, the industry — working with the fire department — agreed that drills shouldn't require walking all the way to the street. Instead, drills would require building occupants to travel down three or four flights to an agreed-on meeting location for further instructions. We have always supported fire and evacuation drills while urging that they be carried out in a way that reduces the potential for life-threatening injuries.
Steven Spinola, President, REBNY, NEW YORK CITY

Only in second grade at the time of 9/11 — I'm now in eighth — I had been confused by the tragic events. However, your article about Rick Rescorla and the risks he took for his colleagues sent my mother and me into tears. Rescorla's ability to remain calm and assertive in a dangerous situation is inspiring, and I hope we can learn from his example.
Martha Harding, PALO ALTO, CALIF., U.S.

Boundless Abilities
I found your obituary for Harriet McBryde Johnson incredibly ironic [June 23]. A woman who spent her life advocating for the rights and respect for people with disabilities was referred to as "suffering" from her disorder and "bound to a wheelchair." While most people working in special education and other areas of disability advocacy have adopted the practice of using "person-first" language (not referring to people by their disability or capitalizing on sensational statements like "suffering"), the media consistently lag behind. We should not presume that a person with a particular disability "suffers"; in fact, she used a wheelchair as a tool in her daily life. I encourage Time to lead the way when reporting on people with disabilities or other special needs.
Rachel Reynolds, GLEN ALLEN, VA., U.S.

To Meet or Not to Meet
Re Samantha Power's "Talking to Evil": It is one thing to sit down with other superpowers like China and Russia to help maintain the precarious balance of peace in the world [June 23]. It is quite another to sit down with those whose only goal is to destroy democracy across the globe and replace it with Islamic fundamentalism. Iran and Syria are not superpowers. Talking with them will only aid in giving our Muslim terrorist enemies the recognition and credibility they so desperately want.
Jack Treese, SIMI VALLEY, CALIF., U.S.

Trying to establish those who opposed Dwight Eisenhower's, John F. Kennedy's, Richard Nixon's and Ronald Reagan's negotiations with the enemy as the same people — the anti-engagers — is ludicrous. Everything a President does is opposed by someone for some reason. The larger point is that we must negotiate through strength, a fact Obama seems not to understand. Neither did Jimmy Carter. Obama's willingness to withdraw from Iraq while on the brink of victory and to talk without condition to the perpetrators of much of the violence is foolhardy and dangerous.
Mark Shreeve, DANDRIDGE, TENN., U.S.

Australian Sport
Given that our unofficial national motto is "Too much sport is not enough," I am surprised that Australia and its games did not score in your "Games People Play" issue [June 30-July 7]. Polocrosse, a wild fusion of lacrosse and polo, has horses fitter than polo ponies and far more bruising action. Australian Rules, a cross between rugby league and Gaelic football, requires the utmost fitness, as there are virtually no stoppages and minimal reserves of replacement players. As for equestrian competition, when the Australian team won the Three-Day Event over the killer course at the 1960 Olympics in Rome, it was rumored that they practiced by hunting kangaroos across barbed-wire fences.
J. Alice Hofler, SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA