Letters

The Bombshell FBI Memo

"If I could, I'd fire the director of the FBI and say to Coleen Rowley, 'O.K., lady, you've got a job.' She won't let us down." DOUG JONES Odessa, Fla.

Thank you for your report on Coleen Rowley's important memo about the FBI's obstructing measures that could have helped disrupt the Sept. 11 attacks [THE WHISTLE-BLOWER, June 3]. Her letter to FBI Director Robert Mueller told of the bureaucratic culture that stifled and frustrated the Minneapolis field office's investigation of alleged terrorist Zacarias Moussaoui. Though perhaps troubling to many Americans, Rowley's letter resonates with those of us who have worked in the federal bureaucracy. We understand that the present system rewards the naysayers and consummate bureaucrats within the career civil service who say no to good ideas and out-of-the-box thinking. Rowley's memo will focus the attention of Congress and the Administration on FBI reforms. GERALD A. FILL Alexandria, Va.

Is it any coincidence that the two most notable whistle-blowers in American society today are women? Thank goodness for the impact of former Enron executive Sherron Watkins and FBI Special Agent Coleen Rowley. I'm glad they decided to place personal ethics and morality ahead of the careerist, risk-averse approach that men often robotically use in climbing the ladder. VICKI LOUK BALINT Phoenix, Ariz.

Take J. Edgar Hoover's name off the FBI building and rename it the Coleen M. Rowley Building. Then perhaps the people working inside it will follow Rowley's example. CYNTHIA L. KNIGHT Uncasville, Conn.

It took some courage for TIME to publish this story, and especially Rowley's memo, which the FBI attempted to deep-six by classifying it. This is yet another reminder of how important a free press is when we are facing unprecedented dangers. Reporting like TIME's and courageous people like Rowley make it impossible for the Washington crowd to cover up its failures. DON ALLEN Carlisle, Mass.

While there is no excuse for intelligence and law-enforcement agencies to fail in their duty to protect us, we can show some understanding of their shortcomings. What we cannot forgive is any cover-up of the truth--if you screw up, at least don't lie to us. Obfuscation engenders in Americans a pure lack of trust for their most important institutions. Considering only the numerous cover-ups since Watergate, I feel it is not surprising that Americans are steadily losing faith in their government. JERRY LUPU Albany, N.Y.

I have had it with people blaming the FBI for Sept. 11! Does anybody really believe it was the fault of the bureau, or is it just the scapegoat? To say the agents were caught with their pants down makes a great story, but can we expect the FBI to be absolutely flawless? Can we expect agents to weed through the thousands of terrorist threats made against the U.S., omnipotently knowing which ones to take seriously? I think the FBI does an exceptional job, considering the hand it is dealt every day. Who knows how many times its agents have saved lives? We owe them thanks, not blame. ENOCH BASNETT Corsicana, Texas

Rowley has effectively done the work of 10 congressional investigative committees, at no one's expense but her own. The country, including politicians and bureaucrats, should listen to her assessment and be reminded that when TIME says the FBI failed, it means the institution, not the thousands of good, hardworking field agents whose only goal is to serve justice and make our country a safer place. It's time political correctness and careerism took a backseat to doing the right thing, and I commend Rowley for leading the way. LAURA ARMSTRONG Marietta, Ga.

--Was Coleen Rowley's explosive memo to FBI Director Mueller an act of selflessness, or was it self-serving? Many readers weren't all that quick to call her a hero. "True whistle-blowers try to expose their organization's shortcomings before they cause problems, not after," argued a Californian. "Why didn't Rowley put her job on the line back in August, before the attacks? That would've taken real guts." A Floridian dismissed Rowley as "a woman in a midlife crisis trying to get some attention," and another Sunshine Stater derided the memo as "a bid for publicity as she plans her next career move--in Hollywood." But to a California admirer, that is exactly where Rowley's story belongs: "If they can make a movie about Erin Brockovich, why not one about Coleen Rowley?"

Homeland Defense

TIME failed to contact our office for verification of Senator Dianne Feinstein's reported contention that I told her we could not hold a meeting on terrorism because we would "need six months to prepare for it" [SPECIAL REPORT, May 27]. Had you asked, you could have correctly reported the interaction with the Senator on this critical issue. For the record, in May of last year, President Bush asked Vice President Cheney to evaluate our homeland defense. I reviewed Feinstein's draft legislation in July (when she sent it) and met with her co-sponsor. On July 31, Feinstein raised her proposal at a meeting with Vice President Cheney, and subsequently the Vice President offered to meet with several small groups of interested Senators, to include Feinstein, once Congress reconvened. On Sept. 6, I discussed with Feinstein the progress of our considering many counterterrorism proposals, including hers. Your readers deserve an accurate account of the work being done to secure our homeland. LEWIS LIBBY CHIEF OF STAFF TO THE VICE PRESIDENT Washington

No Laughing Matter

RE Bruce Handy's tongue-in-cheek memoir "I, Too, Remember John" [CARTOON, June 3]: Although I was not a particular fan of John F. Kennedy Jr.'s, I found this treatment of his memory to be appalling. It trivializes and undercuts the life of someone who was basically a good person and who tried to accomplish something with his talents. The comic strip, totally unfunny in itself, must have been incredibly offensive to those who truly knew Kennedy and cared about him. DAVID R. GOODRICH San Antonio, Texas

Forget About a Quick Fix

I'm tired of articles that tell how a gastric bypass is the answer to losing weight and keeping it off [HEALTH, June 3]. I had a bypass more than two years ago and have lost only half the weight I was supposed to. I am constantly battling hunger and think about food all the time. It is such a struggle, and the guilt is overwhelming, since I went through so much pain, not to mention the $45,000 the surgery cost. Maybe I have an overabundance of the gastric hormone called ghrelin that you say may be involved in triggering the desire to eat, but I don't think it has anything to do with the bypass. I only wish that when I was investigating this surgery, the information I got had not been so sugarcoated. If I had heard some horror stories, I would have reconsidered. It is not a cure-all! ROSIE GERDEMAN Lima, Ohio

Experts are frantically looking for genes, hormones, chemicals and anything else to explain the sudden explosion of obesity, but the fact is that we simply eat too much of the wrong things. As a child, when I went to the circus, I paid 25[cents] to see the fat lady. Now I can see a dozen or more in any mall without charge, and they are heavier than the ones I used to pay to see. So much of what people eat is high in fat, carbohydrates and sugar. That and a food addiction worse than nicotine will present a health-care nightmare very soon. ROBERT N. RADER Moore Haven, Fla.

Caught in the Cross Fire

I can't believe the vatican news service had the gall to publish an editorial chastising celebrities for spreading the fashion of wearing crosses decorated with precious stones and reminding them that people are dying of hunger [PEOPLE, June 3]. The Roman Catholic Church's coffers are filled with bejeweled "symbols of the Christian faith," but I have never heard the church suggest that it could liquidate a few of those assets to help victims of hunger. Why is it that the people who are sitting on the biggest chunk of change are always so eager to have other people help the needy? NANCY L. MORRIS Walnut Creek, Calif.

Bad Rap

Classical musicians who early on criticized rock 'n' roll could never have imagined that things could decline so far that Eminem's rapping and ranting [MUSIC, June 3] would be considered music. The ability to rhyme does not make you a poet any more than swinging a bat makes you a major league ballplayer. A cynic could imagine young Marshall Mathers, a.k.a. Eminem, at summer camp: while the jazz kids were down the hall practicing their scales, Mathers was working on his delivery of obscenities and staring menacingly into a camera. To label rap as music suggests that all you need to be an artist is a big mouth and a microphone. FRANK RANSLEY McFarland, Wis.