AN STYLE='font-size: 100%; color: #990000; font-weight: bold; '>Ronald Reagan: the Great Pen Pal
"Thank you for publishing Reagan's letters. I hope everyone will recognize the intelligence and the wonderful morality of the man."
LUCY M. CRONIN
Key Largo, Fla.
As someone who has studied President Reagan since his first year in office, I am not surprised to see that his letters reveal what many of us have known all along [BOOK EXCERPT, Sept. 29]: Ronald Reagan was always his own man, a man of principle who believed in a better tomorrow. Much of the analysis and opinion about his presidency in the past 15 years has been clouded by partisan thinking. I am confident that in time the depth of Reagan's vision will be confirmed by historians.
BRETT KOTTMANN
Centerville, Ohio
The excerpts present the true personality of an American President who survived the cold war era. The words reveal Reagan's humanity and his sensitivity, not only to great events but also to his roles as father, husband and friend. The letters changed my view of Reagan, whom I had viewed mostly as a political leader. Deep inside the man is the soul of a person who understood life and learned much from it.
RODERICK DARWIN P. SANTOS
New York City
Reagan was the best president the U.S. ever had. His ability to manage people and allow them to work independently will be remembered as his strongest attribute.
DAVE QUEEN
Apex, N.C.
In his letters, Reagan comes across as a man desperately in need of approval. He had to assure his correspondents, and perhaps himself, that he was doing the right thing. Sadly, the letters show Reagan as a mediocrity, a man who skims the front page of the paper and studies the sports page and the comics. Reagan was born to preside over a Chamber of Commerce. He would have been splendid as the president of a Rotary Club. Unfortunately, he was President of the U.S., and it took us years to recover from his Administration.
JEAN MARTIN
Pittsburgh, Pa.
The Reagan letters illuminate so much more than the man and the influences that shaped his life. They give notice that letter writing is a dying art, succumbing to the modern-day requisite for immediacy, as reflected in the increasing use of e-mail and instant messaging. Our written communications have lost a quality of intimacy that makes the anticipation of replies to our letters agonizing and exquisite. Where will future historians and biographers find the primary source material to gain insight into their subjects? Modern technology has provided much that is indispensable, but it has also stripped our correspondence of a key essence and deprived our descendants of a rich legacy.
DAVID LACHER
New Rochelle, N.Y.
The excerpts from Reagan's letters are fascinating and inspiring. You presented them in an unbiased fashion so that we were free to make our own judgments of the man and his purpose.
CHRIS MARLOWE
Shreveport, La.
Pakistan's Balancing Act
The questions about Pakistan's links to terrorism raised in your article "Is Pakistan a Friend or a Foe?" should be investigated [WORLD, Sept. 29]. I am bothered by the U.S.'s hesitancy to confront Pakistan regarding its reluctance to curb Muslim fanatics. It appears that the U.S. government has overestimated Pakistan's contribution in the fight against terrorism and should re-evaluate its ties to that nation. Pakistan must give up the idea that tolerating fanatics is necessary for domestic harmony. It may be expedient for Pakistan, but it could prove catastrophic for the U.S. The least Washington can do is make all aid to Pakistan strictly contingent on that country's progress toward the complete elimination of those who support terrorist acts. If Pakistan truly opposes terrorism, then it must respect America's concerns.
VIJAY AMARSHI
Chatsworth, Calif.
Your report gave an unfair perspective on Pakistan's role in helping the U.S. battle terrorism and did not give enough credit to how Pakistan, with its meager resources, has managed to help the U.S. Every country in the world has some radical religious elements. That the Pakistani people discuss their future goals in a civilized manner shows how that relatively young country is evolving into a nation. The U.S. and the rest of the world are deeply in debt to Pakistan for clamping down on the Taliban's resources, an act that was instrumental in the U.S.'s swift victory in Afghanistan. Pakistan has also suffered from terrorism, and its people understand what the U.S. has gone through since 9/11. It was out of principle and friendship that Pakistan gave the U.S. a helping hand.
MUHAMMAD MANSOOR ALAM
Cleveland, Ohio
Sympathy for the French
Re Michael Elliott's commentary on the new burst of Francophobia in the U.S. [GLOBAL AGENDA, Sept. 29]: Elliott has obviously fallen prey to French propaganda. The notion that France didn't want to go to war because there would be an adverse reaction by Middle Eastern radicals is nonsense. France didn't want to go to war because it would mean loss of its influence (and economic benefits) in Iraq and possibly other countries in the region. France thinks about itself first, last and always. Although it did the right thing in generations long past, it is now nothing more than a self-centered embarrassment, not an ally of the U.S.'s.
RICHARD VILKIN
Henderson, Nev.
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