Letters

Looking for a Way Out

"What happens in Iraq has the potential to be either a wonderful victory for democracy or a blight on America's foreign policy record." SARAH J. LIPPITT Alexandria, Va.

After a year of U.S. occupation, Iraq has been labeled a quagmire and the Bush Administration admonished for not having an exit strategy [March 15]. But great progress has taken place in Iraq. There is a provisional constitution, signed and in place; election plans are being made; and a war-crimes tribunal is formed. Those are huge steps. If the U.S. has the wisdom to stay the course, Iraq will have democracy, and that development will have a positive effect on the entire Middle East. Helping the Iraqi people recover from Saddam Hussein's brutal regime will take some time. The premature withdrawal of U.S. forces for political reasons in an election year would backfire, and the whole region could be turned into an al-Qaeda stronghold. DOROTHY NIKLOS Chapman, Pa.

In waging war on Iraq, Bush didn't prove he would do whatever it takes to keep America safe. He showed only that he is adept at linking two entirely unrelated issues (Iraq and 9/11) and getting the media to help him do it--over and over again. HEATHER FLYNN Portland, Ore.

Asking which way is the exit from Iraq is cowardly. It's the kind of question posed by people without conviction. Your article ought to have begun with the declaration "Rarely does a day go by in Iraq that citizens do not enjoy some new freedom that they were denied for decades under a ruthless dictatorship." RON BAILEY Wooster, Ohio

The U.S. should not be looking for a quick withdrawal from Iraq. When will Americans make difficult policy choices without the name calling and political positioning that keep us stuck in quicksand? In President Bush we have a leader who is willing to risk everything to bring peace and stability to the Middle East. He has made it clear that the U.S. will not stand down. Bush wants to put an end to the recurring cycle of terrorism. We cannot retreat now; terrorists will not stop attacking us unless we show them that we will not cut and run. BILL ANGELONI Willow Grove, Pa.

The war in Iraq has proved to be the mother of all miscalculations. President Bush has plunged America into an impossible situation. Let the Iraqis continue their infighting and if they can't produce viable, stable government, the country can turn to the U.N. DINA AUSTIN Bramalea, Ont.

What Would Kerry Do?

In asking "Does Kerry Have A Better Idea?" about what to do in Iraq [March 15], you posed the million-dollar question and brought attention to something that could ultimately be the Senator's downfall. John Kerry offers criticism instead of answers to real problems. That has been his politically successful modus operandi since Vietnam. The battle for the White House will be long and hard fought. Kerry will need to come up with some specific answers, or Americans will soon see he is a political fraud. HAY HASSANI Beaver, Okla.

Kerry gave the most indecisive interview answers I have ever read by a man wanting to be U.S. President. He can't seem to decide how he feels about one of the most important issues in the 2004 election. He must make clear whether he opposes or supports the war. He has to decide and not hedge his answer based on future considerations. From what I've seen Kerry is not a leader. MARK HARVILLE Jackson, Tenn.

If Kerry has a better idea, he has yet to explain it. Other than bashing Bush, Kerry has no plan. He has no idea what to do when it comes to foreign policy. WILL SCHWARZ Midlothian, Va.

Any ideas Kerry has would be better than Bush's. A Democratic Administration would have been more patient and deliberative about going to war and would have created a larger coalition of allies. The U.N. would have been on board, and the U.S. would not be in the mess it's in now. ROBERT WATSON Dillard, Ga.

It's impossible to evaluate the nature of candidates' ideas on the basis of self-serving campaign rhetoric. After all, Bush promised to be a political uniter who would rev up the economy, curb excessive government spending and avoid nation building. Those seemed like good ideas at the time, but what is the reality today? I am not convinced that Kerry has any particularly new ideas, but I would be thrilled to have a President who had fewer horrible ones. ARDY HAGEN San Jose, Calif.

TIME'S interview with Kerry should be required reading for all Americans. The man offered merely a series of distinctions with no real differences from Bush's policies. I conclude that Kerry is incapable of making a decision until the most popular course is revealed. Only then would he jump on the winning bandwagon. And this from a man who wants us to entrust him with the responsibility for making decisions concerning life and death, war and peace? ALAN O'CONNOR Crown Point, Ind.

Those Campaign Ads: Whose 9/11 Is It?

Charles Krauthammer's essay "Why 9/11 Belongs In The Campaign" [March 15] rightly stated that Bush should be able to use 9/11 in his re-election bid because the terrorist attacks occurred on his watch. However, if the President continues to exploit images related to the attacks, he must be open about the entire 9/11 issue. Bush opposed creation of the independent commission to investigate government actions leading up to 9/11, and he has only reluctantly been cooperating with the investigation. The American people are mature enough to accept the truth of 9/11. Bush needs to let the commission do the job it was created to do. JOHN MURPHY Madison, Wis.

Krauthammer eloquently stated what I and many others have been feeling--that 9/11 was a national event. I personally did not know anyone who perished during the terrorist attacks, yet I shared our nation's pain and sorrow. I also shared outrage, a desire for revenge and a determination to defend America. Bless those who lost family members or co-workers, but also bless our Commander in Chief, his Administration and our armed forces. RICK RIOS Vancouver, Wash.

Bush is more than disingenuous when he chooses to trade on images from 9/11 while the media have been barred from covering the arrival at Dover Air Force Base of remains of soldiers killed in Iraq. Bush knows that the images of U.S. casualties would be much more telling than a 9/11 photo. Although Bush happened to be the leader we turned to when our country was attacked, his true self is revealed by his waging a war that was built on the willful deception of the people. PAT ROCCHI North Wales, Pa.

If the use of 9/11 is justified because it was a tragedy that belongs to all Americans, then by the same logic, Bush should be running political ads that highlight the U.S.'s burgeoning job loss and towering budget deficit, as well as an erosion of civil liberties and a decline in environmental protection--national tragedies that also belong to us all. HILDA GRANT JONES Farmingdale, Maine

A Good Thing Gone Bad

Your report about Martha Stewart's conviction for obstructing justice and other crimes, "Not a Good Thing for Martha" [March 15], stated that "Stewart was no ordinary Jane who traded on inside information to make a quick buck." But that misses the point. Ordinary Janes would not have had access to the stock-price information that was given to Stewart as a direct result of her wealth and position. That's why it's called insider information. The rest of us are just trying to level the playing field. NANCY PARKER Englewood, Fla.

I don't know any shareholders who wouldn't sell a stock if they learned it was dropping in price, regardless of how they found out. The Justice Department said the problem was not the sale but the lying. True, lying is wrong, but Stewart's lies were without intent to harm. This was a very selective prosecution. If the Justice Department is going to indict and prosecute every person who lies, it had better start recruiting lawyers. The real damage comes now. How many people will lose their jobs in Stewart's company because of this great legal "success"? JUAN F. MONTALVO Wellington, Fla.

Stewart failed to learn from the travails of Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton: it's not the crime; it's the cover-up. Martha is not going to jail for using insider information to sell stock; she's going to jail for lying to federal investigators. She forgot that even rich people are not above the law, especially in a presidential-election year. ANDREW C. RIGROD Sherman Oaks, Calif.

Being unethical is not only wrong, it's bad for business. The guilty verdicts in the Stewart trial demonstrate that the worst possible public relations for a company's executive officer is getting caught in unethical conduct. If that isn't a strong motivation for taking ethics seriously, I don't know what is. BRUCE WEINSTEIN New York City

Whew! Now we can all sleep better since the feds got Martha Stewart off the streets. Middle Eastern terrorists are still at large, O.J. Simpson is free, but they got Martha. I hope she has a good recipe for sacrificial lamb chops. GARY TAUSTINE New York City

Curing the Haitian Headache

Your coverage of the U.S. military's return to Haiti after the overthrow of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide [March 15] clearly showed that the people of Haiti are incapable of governing themselves. It is time that we stop trying to fix the same problem over and over. Instead, the U.N. should authorize France to make Haiti a colony once again, for the next 20 years. During that time--and with aid from other nations--France would be responsible for disarming the rabble; creating a public school system with universal education; establishing a police force and a defensive army; rebuilding the civil infrastructure of roads, bridges and public utilities; forming a new constitution and judicial system; and bringing in new businesses. At the end of two decades, the U.N. could hold elections in the reformed country, and our periodic headache in the Caribbean could fade into the history books. HOLMES BRANNON Woodland Park, Colo.

Crazy Like a Fox

"The Trouble With Genius," Lev Grossman's review of David Edmond and John Eidinow's book Bobby Fischer Goes to War [March 15], suggested that Fischer's irrational behavior detracted from his chess-playing prowess. But in the game of chess, it is important to predict the moves of one's opponent. When a player does not behave rationally, such predictions are hard to make. Viewed in this light, Fischer's antisocial, egomaniacal antics were ingenious psychological ploys that made his opponents second-guess their ideas about the grand master's chess strategies. Fischer's aberrant behavior was a crucial aspect of his chess-playing genius. TIM JOHNSON Eugene, Ore.