Letters

The Science of Meditation

Thank you for the cover story on meditation [HEALTH, Aug. 4]. As a 28-year-old practitioner of both yoga and meditation, I was reassured to learn that other Americans have incorporated traditional Eastern philosophical methods into their lives as a way of coping with everyday rigors. The rat race needs to slow down for a soul-cleansing pit stop. MOLLY WRIGHT Chicago

We hear so much about violence and war that it was refreshing to be reminded that people have the power to bring themselves peace. Perhaps, years from now, our children will be able to control their anger, and our leaders will learn to promote peace through mindfulness. SOHEILA VOJOUDI Westmount, Que.

I fear that by bringing attention to meditation, your story might be taken by hard-driving overachievers as a more spiritually correct way to acquire fame, fortune and real estate--or just another fad to talk about over cocktails. HARVEY B. USSACH New Bedford, Mass.

In our fast-lane urban life, people pay too little attention to such conditions as stress and depression. Spending a few minutes a day meditating can really improve our body dynamics. I hope more people realize its power so they can experience more tranquillity. SIVA PRASAD Hyderabad, India

Stress reduction, life extension and transitory states of bliss are worthy pursuits but not the true, historical purpose of meditation. In Zen Buddhist parlance, it is a way to resolve the "great matter" of birth and death, by allowing the practitioner to bear witness to the indestructible, birthless, deathless self-nature that lies at the heart of all existence and then to live in accordance with this insight. HOAG HOLMGREN Nederland, Colo.

With proof of its healing powers increasing, meditation in its different forms is catching the attention of people around the world. But there is at least one form of meditation whose benefits, though undocumented, are hard to beat. It is the stroll in the neighborhood park on a sunny afternoon, with toddler in tow. Indeed, there are few things more effective in focusing the mind on the eternal present, to the exclusion of everything else. The only downside is that kids grow up and move out one day. M. VENKATA KRISHNAN Chennai, India

>> Many readers felt that writer Joel Stein's antic skepticism was ill suited to the subject of meditation. "He would not have used such a flip, disrespectful tone in an article on Christian or Jewish ritual," wrote a religion professor from Georgia. Asked a minister from Maine: "Why the sarcasm? What was Stein afraid of?" And a New Yorker offered a brief, blunt primer on meditation: "The goal is to calm the mind enough that you don't need to make really lame jokes."

Smarter Intelligence

Michael Duffy's story on the congressional inquiry into the causes of 9/11 was insightful, but I take issue with his dismissal of FBI-CIA turf battles as "silly bureaucratic rivalries" [NATION, Aug. 4]. Interagency rivalries and failure of cooperation generally stem from the same source: funding. The CIA and FBI must prove to Congress that they have been effective and deserve the budgets they have requested. The agency that openly shares information risks enabling another organization to crack the case. Until Congress establishes a method of budgeting that promotes cooperation over rivalry, we will continue to see linkage failures of the type that led to 9/11. CURTIS SPINDLER New York City

Your report said little about how inefficient the government is in authenticating intelligence from abroad. When terrorism assumes a global character, intelligence agencies around the world need to share information to avert horrifying incidents like 9/11. Who in the government is accountable for verifying information from overseas, a major factor for the coalition-led war on Iraq? UJJWAL BHATTACHARJEE Lowell, Mass.

No Success Without Support

In his Essay against sending U.N. peacekeepers to Iraq, Michael Elliott wrote, "You don't bring peace to a violent land just by sending a multinational force wearing blue helmets" [GLOBAL AGENDA, Aug. 4]. But it was the lack of U.S. and other major-power support for understaffed U.N. forces that was at the root of the failures that Elliott cited. U.S. pressure in the Security Council to withdraw rather than enlarge the U.N. peacekeeping forces in Rwanda contributed to the severity of the massacre. The Dutch peacekeepers who failed to act in Bosnia did not have adequate support or a mandate from the five permanent members of the Security Council--and the U.S. did not push for additional resources. And it is difficult to blame the U.N. for the failed mission in Somalia, which was composed mainly of American forces led by Americans, when non-American "blue helmets" became involved only in the process of withdrawal. WILLIAM LUERS, PRESIDENT UNITED NATIONS ASSOCIATION New York City

Toppling Tyrants

The tortured nation of Iraq sighed in relief when the notorious sons of Saddam Hussein were killed [WORLD, Aug. 4]. Eliminating these two thugs has allowed the U.S. to turn the tables on the critics of the war. Coalition forces now have the blessings of those who lost family members to the arrogant sons of the dislodged dictator. As the war continues against evil, ridding the world of the horrible and tyrannical claws of dictatorship will be counted as a remarkable deed. As far as the victimized people of Iraq are concerned, their score with the vicious sons of Saddam is settled. AHMAD MASOOD AZRAQ Malmo, Sweden

Mission to Liberia

While it is hypocritical of the global community to expect the military to address the crisis in Liberia while the U.S. is bombarded with insults about its role in Iraq, the situation in Liberia mirrors that of Iraq: a harmful regime must be removed from power [World, Aug. 4]. We have an obligation to intervene in Liberia because of its founding fathers' American roots; otherwise President Bush would be justified in letting the U.N. go it alone. But any attempt to stabilize the country without American military support will be a disaster. MARY CAROLINE BARR Monroe, La.

Garner's Interim Role

While I applaud TIME's efforts to deal with the complicated and dynamic issue of the postwar operation in Iraq [BATTLING the CHAOS, July 14], I see the need to correct some misconceptions. By writing that I was "unable to exert authority over the activities of the 146,000 soldiers in Iraq," TIME accused me of an inability to exert authority I did not have. Only General Tommy Franks held that authority. You also quoted a State Department official as saying, "The White House seemed to decide the Garner thing hadn't worked." On April 24, however, my very first night in Baghdad as director of the Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld called to tell me the President had appointed Paul Bremer as head of the Coalition Provisional Authority. Before the war had even begun, the White House had planned to replace me as soon as practicable with a presidential appointee with diplomatic or government experience. I am a retired Army general, unqualified by experience and inclination for the role that the President gave Bremer. We were all trying to do the best job we were capable of doing in Iraq. Your report made our work seem otherwise and conveyed a false impression to the public we serve. JAY M. GARNER Windermere, Fla.

Military on the Move

Charles Krauthammer was right about the redeployment of U.S. troops around the globe [ESSAY, Aug. 4]. It is about time the U.S. focused on the political and strategic realities of the new millennium and rearranged its costly forces on foreign soil. U.S. troops are neither necessary nor welcome in Germany, Japan and South Korea, whose economic power should enable them to support their own defense. In fact, Japan, South Korea and China--all economically strong and stable--should be able to engage North Korea in a regional agreement that would obviate the need for stationing U.S. soldiers on the Korean peninsula. ELIZABETH FISH GUARDENIER Mount Kisco, N.Y.

Weeding National Forests

Your report on marijuana cultivation on federal land highlighted several facts that would lead a rational person to support the legalization of marijuana [SOCIETY, Aug. 4]. The only reason farmers take the risk of setting up these plots is the economic incentive. The profit for growing this crop is artificially high owing to its outlaw status. The consumption of pot is every bit as victimless as alcohol use. If it were legal, our beautiful park lands would not be fouled, drug agents would not be risking their lives to save no one and they would have time to fight truly dangerous drugs. RON LOW Northbrook, Ill.

In Defense of Horse Sense

In his review of the film Seabiscuit, Richard Schickel wrote that the famed racehorse was "what all racehorses are--a bundle of ganglia, to which intelligence and personality can be imputed but never proved." You'd think Schickel was talking about a mollusk. By claiming that such intelligence can only be "imputed," he showed his ignorance of the complex creatures that surround us. This is an old, mechanistic view of animal intelligence that provides a pretext for cruelty. MARC SMITH Peterborough, N.H.