Letters

Person of the Year

"Mayor Rudy Giuliani has stood out as the representative of the U.S. and of Americans for all the world to admire." BARRY O'BRIEN Iron Mountain, Mich.

I was utterly delighted to learn that New York City's Rudolph Giuliani is TIME's Person of the Year [Dec. 31-Jan. 7]. New Yorkers are the most resilient, compassionate and extraordinary people anywhere. In times of hardship and tragedy, we come together, and the mayor has led the way. He has been a tower of strength for all of us who were frightened, shaken, sorrowful and depressed. FRANCINE M. SCHWARTZ New York City

Not to take anything away from the heroic performance of Mayor Giuliani, but your choice of him was hypocritical and cowardly. Can any rational person think the effect that Osama bin Laden's heinous crimes had on the world was less important than the mayor's wonderful deeds? When Giuliani went to ground zero right after the attack, he showed something TIME's editors lacked: courage. EDWARD RADOSH Weston, Fla.

On Sept. 11, as I was trying to make sense of the terrorist attacks and wondering where I would find my courage, I heard Mayor Giuliani utter his now famous words "the number of casualties will be more than any of us can bear." I knew then that I had heard the voice of a man I could trust, and I believed that if he could act with so much courage and honesty in the middle of the storm, so could I. Rudy has been my choice as Person of the Year since Sept. 12. BARBARA POTTER North Barrington, Ill.

Giuliani is certainly deserving of the designation Person of the Year. But the greatest impact for good or ill in 2001 was made by Osama bin Laden. Neither Mayor Giuliani nor President George W. Bush would have been a candidate except for the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11. Without the events of that day, 2001 would have been a run-of-the-mill year. TIME chickened out. JAIME ARBONA Mayaguez, Puerto Rico

Nancy Gibbs made some good points in recognizing that bin Laden is too small a man to get the credit for all that has happened in America since Sept. 11. Anyone like bin Laden, with money and a plan, could have sent messengers of death to New York City, but it took a man of Giuliani's courage, his instinct and intelligence to take on the responsibility for action in the face of this catastrophe. Rudy took charge. He led all the people of New York--the fire fighters, the police, the survivors and those who suffered the loss of loved ones. He was truly heroic. JEANNE HUM La Mirada, Calif.

Giuliani did not cause our armed forces to attack a foreign country. Nor did he cause the average traveler to be treated as a common criminal at airports. He didn't make people afraid to open or even touch their mail; he made no great impact on the economy and jobs. Giuliani did not cause two of the world's tallest buildings to become rubble. He surely does not meet your criteria for Person of the Year. WILLIAM K. GREENE League City, Texas

Giuliani has been called tough, abrasive, insensitive and indiscreet. So has New York City. His leadership united a great city, as the courage of the people of New York united a great country. We should thank Giuliani and the city he has led through the terrorist attacks. MARTIN SCHLANK Aberdeen, N.J.

There were many heroes in New York City after Sept. 11 who could have been named your Person of the Year. Mayor Giuliani, however, was the glue that held the city together in the face of seemingly insurmountable challenges. TIME made the correct choice. LARRY MARTHALER Longboat Key, Fla.

Respect for the Alliance

In your article "Inside Tora Bora," you stated that "the Afghans might be useful proxies for some jobs but were perhaps not quite professional enough to finish" the war against the Taliban [THE MANHUNT, Dec. 24]. That remark was offensive and belittling toward those Afghan soldiers who in the past weeks have shed their blood in battle after battle in their homeland. Most of America's ground forces have seen relatively little action during that time, while the "not quite professional" Afghan troops have cleared out the Taliban and al-Qaeda. Such insensitivity to others and a tendency to self-aggrandizement often lead to hatred of the U.S. in other parts of the world. FRANK BENITEZ Houston

Setting an Example

It is heartwarming to see how President George W. Bush and Americans are responding to the agony of Sept. 11 [THE WAR, Dec. 24]. It is astonishing indeed to witness a nation that has reacted with so much unity and urgency to restore its national equilibrium. From government officials to the military personnel serving in Afghanistan, there is the highest degree of determination to be true bearers of the American flag. I hope the governments of other countries in crisis will be able to sense the patriotism and determination with which the American people are restoring their distorted lives, economy and country. But even with the worst-case scenario of the American experience as a frame of reference, many governments will fail to provide leadership to assist their people with diplomatic and practical solutions. VERNON CHALMERS Cape Town

The Next Refuge

Your article "Can al-Qaeda Find a New Nest?", about possible places the terrorists can seek sanctuary [TERRORISM, Dec. 24], did not mention Saudi Arabia, bin Laden's homeland. But Saudi citizens have obviously supported al-Qaeda with money, men and serious theological underpinnings. Saudi Arabia is a vast country in which local tribal leaders can be wooed and bought, as in Afghanistan. In Saudi Arabia, where a constant stream of tens of thousands of foreigners from all over the world legitimately makes pilgrimages to Mecca, foreign Arab terrorists don't stick out. Would a relatively weak Saudi government crack down on a rich, highly organized and entrenched terrorist group staunchly supported by the Saudi people? And would the U.S. strike a country that supplies 18% of its oil? GERRY FELDMAN East Brunswick, N.J.

Prior to its installation in Afghanistan, al-Qaeda had several nests in various countries, including Pakistan. President Pervez Musharraf's problems in the wake of the attack on the Indian Parliament are caused by the inherent contradictions in his need to be seen as a champion of Islam by the fundamentalists and a combatant against terrorism by the U.S.-led international community. He has a very hard decision to make, and if he chooses unwisely, there will no doubt be great economic destruction and tragedy on the whole subcontinent. GAUTAM V. DESAI Bombay

The Tale of the Tape

The White House's release of the smoking-gun bin Laden videotape, in which he discusses with evident pleasure the attacks of Sept. 11, proved that this Administration is guilty of violating its own rules [THE BIN LADEN TAPE, Dec. 24]. Weren't the media warned to limit all bin Laden broadcasts because of the fear they might contain secret encoded messages? So where were the concerns about this tape? Or was the caution unfounded--a fabrication to limit our press freedoms? This Administration was originally afraid that the words of bin Laden might have gained him sympathy in this country. But it was wrong. The people of this great nation know a bad guy when they see one. DENNIS CAPOLONGO Rockville, Md.

This blurry home video might have simply been another creative way to inform the world that should bin Laden be called to paradise, there will be plenty of Muslim extremists left on earth to help carry out other evil acts. And did bin Laden's honored Saudi Arabian guest know he was taking part in a conversation that was being taped and might be broadcast worldwide? Probably not until he saw it on television. Such is bin Laden's perfidy. YVONNE FRAUENFELDER Santa Rosa, Calif.

The Banality of Evil

In his commentary "Awfully Ordinary," about how bin Laden looked on the tape, Lance Morrow called him "the John Gotti of jihad" for his delusion of self-importance [ESSAY, Dec. 24]. I couldn't help thinking of another comparison: Charles Manson. Both bin Laden and Manson collected mentally unstable, fringe-element losers to carry out the cold-blooded murder of innocent people. In their psychotic logic, both men expected to trigger revolutions that would lead them to power. Bin Laden is not a supervillain or a super anything. He's really just a Charles Manson with a rich daddy. KEVIN COLE Seattle

People like Morrow confuse evil with charismatic bullying. Morrow writes of the terrifying ordinariness of bin Laden, Adolf Eichmann and other perpetrators of organized murder. He says we are often amazed by the nondescript appearance of the evildoers. What do we expect? Horns? A tail? The facts are that Eichmann, bin Laden, Hitler, Stalin and all the other petty yet charismatic men of history who committed such heinous acts had three things in common: they were fanatics; they organized others to do their dirty work; and, most crucial, they were not supernormal madmen--not Satan, not some abstract species of evil--but merely human. SHERYL R. RIELING Aylett, Va.

I couldn't agree more with Morrow's reference to Baudelaire's statement that evil's shrewdest trick is to persuade us that it does not exist. The very politicians who at the start of 2001 were branded as no more than power-hungry opportunists are now upheld as custodians of all that is good in this world. Maybe evil has managed to persuade us that it does not exist. Evil does not have color, creed or nationality. It comes in many guises and has as its only objective the destruction of good. I implore good and wise people to be wary of the evil that may lurk not only in the caves of Tora Bora but also in the corridors of power on their own soil. ATIF RAHMAN Islamabad, Pakistan

Silence on the Arab Street

Like Charles Krauthammer, I was surprised and pleased by the speed of the victory over al-Qaeda and the Taliban [VIEWPOINT, Dec. 24]. However, I was dismayed by Krauthammer's triumphalist rhetoric, which at times approached jingoism. Such language can only fuel the still smoldering fires of hatred of the U.S. Our bombs have changed no one's world view but our own. The Taliban soldiers who switched sides will again disappear into the mountains. The Arab street is quiet only because those who filled it a few weeks ago are home nursing their wounds. For a small but important minority of the Islamic world, America will always be the Great Satan. Afghanistan was not the end but the beginning. We are going to have to do this all over again, perhaps many times. HERBERT K. LEA Lookout Mountain, Tenn.

Krauthammer has provided the perfect response to the mindless mantra "Violence only breeds more violence." He makes it clear that the lack of a violent response to past terrorist attacks has given the Islamic extremists a sense of invincibility. And as Krauthammer has pointed out, their quick defeat in Afghanistan has had the effect of eroding their support in the Arab world. ARMIN SOMMER Venice, Fla.

The ideology of fundamentalist Muslims is not sustainable when put under extreme pressure. The choice between martyrdom and life is easy when one's theology and philosophy have not been personally examined. Religion used for personal gain, be it financial or political, will never produce the final results desired by its propagators. Krauthammer's reason for the demise of such movements is false and frightening. He suggests that it is the result of bombs and missiles, military expertise and power. No! Ideas will always overpower military might if the ideas are right. False theology will bring its own downfall. JOHN VAN DER GRAAF St. Louis, Mo.

To say America has won displays not only a lack of historical sense but also a grave underestimation of the threat. Despite today's headlines, this will be a prolonged and grueling war, and Krauthammer ought to steel his readers for it. RAY C. FINCH III Lawrence, Kans.

Unceasing Strife

Re the continued terrorist attacks on Israelis [WORLD, Dec. 24]: When will the world realize that Yasser Arafat lacks the will, the courage and the power to effect a meaningful peace with Israel? To label Israelis terrorists because they retaliate in kind for the murderous acts of militant Palestinians is the height of irrational thinking. When Arafat walked away from the 2000 Camp David peace process, it was positive proof that he was a tool of the radicals who control him. ALBERT E. DENNY Baltimore, Md.

Your report "Arafat's Dance of Death" graphically portrayed the horrors of the escalation of terrorist violence in Israel. However, it was quite unfair to mention Arafat's rejection of Israel's offer for a final settlement at Camp David without explaining Israel's demand to annex occupied territory where it has bulldozed Palestinian houses and brought in settlers. The placement of settlers in isolated communities in view of those whose land was taken is a prescription for unending conflict. Years ago Israel obtained a lasting peace with Egypt by returning all captured land and removing its settlers. It can hope to gain real peace only by leaving the occupied territories. When the rich take from the poor, the results are tragic for both. PAUL PALMBERG Miami

It is time for out-of-the-box thinking on the Middle East. To be viable entities, the Palestinian territories need to benefit from the established Israeli economic base; for safety and continued success, Israel needs the support of the hearts, minds and hands of the Palestinians. My solution: two sovereign states, Israel and Palestine, united in a federation, with the disputed area of Jerusalem designated a common federal district. The Israeli and Palestinian state governments would have their capitals in nondisputed areas. Being a full-fledged member of this modern federation would serve to elevate the Palestinians from the despair and hopelessness in which they live. Together, these two states in federation could be a beacon not only for the Middle East but for the entire world. FARRELL HOPE Appleton, Wis.

"The Greatest" in Perspective

I've been a fan of boxer Muhammad Ali's ever since I watched him defeat Sonny Liston on closed-circuit TV in 1964. Still, the compliments by essayist Stanley Crouch in your coverage of the new film Ali [CINEMA, Dec. 24] were, to put it gently, excessive. The closing paragraph is but one example: "Everything he did was big, when he was right, when he was wrong, when he embarrassed us, when he inspired us. That finally is why he remains a king of the world." Gracious! My guess is that Ali would get a chuckle when reading such nonsense. RICHARD HARLESS Lorton, Va.

Actor Will Smith said that "for an African American, Muhammad Ali is the biggest role you could have." Although I admire Will, I think he should be more careful. I am not an African American, but I think any actor of that race would be more than thrilled to play the life of someone like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Time to start reading history, Will. CARLOS DOMINGUEZ CRUZ Xalapa, Mexico

The lionization of Ali is truly amazing. Whenever I hear of him, I think of a Vietnam-era draft dodger and an egomaniac. Ali spent a large part of his life trying to beat out other men's brains in a barbaric activity known as prizefighting. Sadly, his opponents tried to do the same to him, and he has paid a big price for this. His "heroism" is more the media's creation than the general public's opinion. The events of recent months tell us what real heroism is all about. JAMES PULLEN St. Louis, Mo.