Assessing the Battle

Sir: Blowing smoke in their usual frantic fashions, the Press, TV and, surprisingly, TIME also have unreservedly stated that the V.C. can "strike at will virtually anywhere in the country" [Feb. 9]. You saved yourself by not adding "any time." Granted the attacks in the South were well executed and successful--but they were also their best effort. The sapper units by anyone's estimate suffered horribly. These units are not, as was inferred by many, inexhaustible, nor are they mere country folk. These were the invaluable, irreplaceable, Hanoi-trained hard-core V.C., Directorate members themselves possibly, and the devout cadre--the very life and stimulus of the N.L.F. movement who have been the motivating spirit of things for years, if not decades. They could, of course, do it again, but certainly not with anywhere near the same quality and intensity.

Regardless of political idealism, the South, as always, suffered again. The N.L.F. is (or was?) mostly Southerners. General Giap must feel quite pleased with his consistent brilliance for blooding both sides at nominal cost to the North, or perhaps China.

WILLIAM G. BOWEN, U.S.N. Naval Training Device Center Orlando, Fla.

Sir: Say, just what's wrong with you people anyway? After the recent events in Viet Nam you should be dancing in the streets. From a military standpoint it's the dumbest move the Commies could have made. For over two years now, your boys have been poking behind trees and down holes in the ground looking for Charlie, and Charlie has been found only when he wanted to be found and when conditions were all in his favor. Now he has very obligingly congregated in the heart of the cities and sits there waiting to be wiped out. As long as the enemy stayed in the jungle he had all the edge. Now for some stupid reason he has thrown it all away. When Hanoi realizes what a fiasco this operation is, they may very well call off the intended offensive in the North.

R. F. IRISH Picton, Canada

Sir: Yes, the Communists undeniably won a victory of sorts. The sort that once again makes it painfully clear that we are fighting a war we cannot win--a war in which we have nothing to gain and much to lose.

ROBERT GASTMAN Oxford, Ohio

Sir: The Year of the Monkey sure made monkeys out of U.S. (that's us--you and me, Mr. John Q. Citizen). Hope next year is not the Year of the Jackass.

E. C. CREAGER Bala Cynwyd, Pa.

Sir: What earthly purpose do you serve by showing our wounded or dead in such heartbreaking pictures? What consolation is this for the families who have lost men in battle? You speak about the poor taste the comedians use on television today--well, you top them all with your choice of pictures. I am wondering if some of the news media are trying to color the public's view about this war.

MRS. DAVID A. CUNNISON Great River, N.Y.

Sir: The color photos of the war were stunning in every sense of the word, the only comment needed to the draft-card-burning shriekers (or should it be shirkers) for peace. All subsequent material seemed superfluous, even frivolous.

MRS. DUDLEY D. SHEARBURN St. Louis

Eagle or Chicken?

Sir: We are grateful for the lucid account of the taking of the Pueblo [Feb. 2], an account that we cannot read without feelings of shame. What is happening in our Navy, which once responded so manfully to the command, "Pipe all hands to repel boarders"? If the captain of the Pueblo was instructed never to use his machine guns, something is wrong with our leadership. Time and again military units of the U.S. have been insulted or knocked about because a cold-war enemy shrewdly guessed that the unit would suffer such treatment.

THOMAS J. HIGGINS, S.J. Baltimore

Sir: Mr. Dean Rusk's precious statement that North Korea should "cool it" must have really scared Kim II Sung out of his wits. I'll bet he has sleepless nights and that "blah" feeling.

JOHANNA B. ACCORTI Monroeville, Pa.

Sir: To our grandfathers' shouts of "Remember the Maine!" our Chinese-governed children can add "Damn the Pueblo!"

JAMES D. CLUTTER Decatur, Ill.

Sir: I have just written a letter to Senator Mansfield suggesting that, in the light of his remark in connection with the Pueblo incident, we should admit our guilt, regardless of facts, and that he should introduce into the Senate a bill to change our national bird from the American eagle to a chicken.

HAROLD CHILDS Eldred, Pa.

Sir: We have Viet Nam, the U.S.S. Pueblo, De Gaulle, and other troubles. My suggestion is: ask former President Harry Truman to come out of mothballs and take over for 90 days.

R. S. McCOMBE Chicken, Alaska

Sir: I think that Lyndon Johnson handled the Pueblo incident with the best diplomacy imaginable. We should be very glad that we have men in Washington with his patience and foresight. A hearty cheer for L.B.J. for averting a major war.

ADOLPH BOURNIQUE JR. Richmond

The Week That Was

Sir: A recent issue contains a letter from an irate reader, Mr. Ball, who feels that college students' reluctance to enlist is "sickening" and also accounts of the Pueblo incident, the battle at Khe Sanh, and the accidental violation of the Cambodian border by allied troops [Feb. 2]. As one of the 98.3% of students who have not yet enlisted, may I point out to Mr. Ball that our reluctance stems in part from our doubts about the ability of our country's leaders to conduct America's affairs and the competence of our military professionals to direct the war effort. When an American ship is attacked on the high seas and we make no reply other than the inevitable mouthings of "diplomacy"; when we expend lives in an assault on the strategic Hill 881N and then return the prize to the enemy when we have won it, enabling him to continue to threaten our base; when we apologize to "neutral" Cambodia for intruding on its territory while battling an enemy which lives there--when all these idiotic blunders occur in a single week, it becomes quite evident that someone, somewhere, doesn't know what in hell he's doing.

RICHARD R. MOUK Manhattan

To the Core

Sir: I was amazed by your comments on the reason why the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare resigned [Feb. 2]. I could not believe that a man with the ability you described would quit merely because he didn't have the resources needed to get all aspects of his job done.

While I'm sure that Secretary Gardner is bone tired by now and has achieved much, it still seems odd that nobody has pointed out a simple managerial fact. You really need your best man only when the going gets tough. History judges nations on the quality of their citizens as well as on their budgets. Secretary Gardner's action, and actions like it, help explain why we've heard about hard-core Communists for years but never about hard-core Americans--except among the combat men in Viet Nam.

W. J. BUCHANAN Lieut. Colonel, U.S.A. Springfield, Va.

Sir: If John Gardner is really all you say he is, "a rare combination of executive ability, intellect and idealism," and if he could, as Johnson said, "hold any job in Government, including the presidency," why couldn't he run for the presidency? Having read his book, Excellence, I would be most anxious for a chance to give him my vote.

MELANIE DACKO Pittsburgh

Service All Around

Sir: We have read your account of David Gitelson, one of our I.V.S. volunteers [Feb. 9]. It is a matter of some regret to us that in addition to identifying David Gitelson as a "dedicated pacifist," you did not note that he had long since completed three years of military service in the U.S. Army, where he served as a medic from 1961 to 1964, prior to completing his studies at Davis.

David Gitelson's plans were to return to the U.S. to study medicine, and then, once qualified as a doctor, to return to Viet Nam to serve the Vietnamese people to whom he had become so attached and with whose present miseries he was so grieved.

ARTHUR Z. GARDINER Executive Director International Voluntary Services, Inc. Washington, D.C.

In a Different Mood

Sir: The headline on the automobile insurance Essay--"The Business with 103 Million Unsatisfied Customers" [Jan. 26] --sets a mood that makes it difficult for one to read the piece objectively. Is it really reasonable to suggest that every one of the country's 103 million drivers is unsatisfied with his automobile insurance? The facts indicate otherwise. A recent attitude survey taken for the Insurance Information Institute shows that 84% of the U.S. public has had no significant complaint about automobile insurance over the past two years. The insurers recognize, however, that there is room for improvement. And, in fact, the industry is working hard to reduce the number of complaints to a minimum.

J. CARROLL BATEMAN President

Insurance Information Institute Manhattan

Sir: I read with interest your Essay on the automobile insurance problem. All things considered, this set out most of the problem areas we are faced with, and it should do much to put the problem in its true perspective with many of our "unsatisfied customers."

J.B.M. MURRAY Montreal

More Power

Sir: Realizing the difficulty of absolute accuracy in strange fields, I am both sympathetic to and understanding of an error in your article on boating in which it was reported that free navigation courses are offered by "the Coast Guard's Power Squadrons" [Feb. 2]. The U.S. Power Squadrons is not related to the Coast Guard. It is an independent organization whose sole mission is to teach small-boat handling, free of charge, to anyone willing to attend its classes. Comprised of 369 squadrons located throughout the U.S., Puerto Rico, Okinawa, Hawaii, etc., it reaches some 70,000 students each year.

R/C ROBERT KOPPLE, JN United States Power Squadrons New York City

Household Finance

Sir: Teen-agers are not only getting department store and local bank credit cards [Feb. 2], but many fathers are giving sons and daughters travel and entertainment cards too. They find this not only gives children the equivalent of emergency cash for airline tickets and service-station expenses, but also gives them facilities to eat, lodge and shop. There are few cases of overspending--and the rare ones that do occur are easily controlled when the parent gets his monthly bill.

W. L. BRIAN Vice President Carte Blanche Corp. Los Angeles

Straightening Out the Credits

Sir: I have read your article on young film makers [Feb. .2] with pleasure. However, I would like to point out the following: the University of Southern California is a private university, as is N.Y.U.; George Lucas is from the University of Southern California, not U.C.L.A. Most of the students at U.S.C. Cinema will not merely become appreciators but will either work in the informational or theatrical film area, as we do not now have enough qualified students to fill jobs available. However, thanks for pointing up the film explosion among young people. It seems that film is the means of expression of a whole generation. Incidentally, U.S.C. helped by being the first university in the U.S. to offer a film study course that met a general education requirement for the B.A. degree.

BERNARD R. KANTOR Chairman, Cinema University of Southern California Los Angeles

Smother Them Not

Sir: As a Christian, I resent the blasphemy against Jesus Christ that has been heard in The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour [Feb. 2]. As an American, I resent the sniping at our President and other loyal Americans. As a man, I resent the efforts of CBS to foist upon the public as "comedians" two of the most uninspired straight men ever to step into the spotlight.

JOSEPH KERR Bloomfield Hills, Mich.

Sir: Being perfect includes having a sense of humor. I think God would laugh harder than any of His children. He's all-understanding--remember?

(MRS.) MARGE RITENHOUSE Reno

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