Letters

The Mess in the Middle East

As the fighting between Israel and Hizballah forces in southern Lebanon raged unabated, our reporting sized up Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's strategy, peered into Hizballah's inner workings and outlined six keys to peace. Readers were polarized in their criticism of the warring parties and their respective allies

Israel is fighting a war deliberately provoked by Iran and Syria via terrorist organizations (Hizballah and Hamas) that aim to eliminate the sole legitimate democracy in that part of the world [July 31]. Instead of blaming Israel, Western democracies should stand up for it because they will be the next targets of terrorism. What have the U.N. and the West done to secure peace in the six years since Israel pulled out of Lebanon? Nothing, except allow Hizballah to build up its military. It is scandalous and hypocritical to demand that Israel forfeit its right to destroy Hizballah. PHILIPPE LUGINBUHL Bern

As the saying goes, it is better to allow 1,000 criminals to go free than convict one innocent person. But the Israelis have turned that maxim on its head: they seem to think it is better to kill 1,000 blameless civilians than allow one terrorist to go free. The Israelis have suffered in the past, yet that does not give them the right to inflict so much pain and suffering on innocent people. Such cruelty leads nowhere. GIORGOS MATSKALIDIS Florina, Greece

The war in Lebanon and northern Israel might have been avoided had the Bush Administration not given the cold shoulder to Iran and Syria. And the U.S. might have been able to wield some influence had it not been embroiled in a civil war in Iraq. We don't have to wait to learn what the legacy of the Bush Administration will be. We can see it now in all the blood being spilled and the destruction happening in Israel, Lebanon and Iraq. ERIK STOTTRUP Waupaca, Wis.

The delay in diplomatic engagement, the failure to press for an immediate cease-fire, the refusal to condemn Israel for heinous attacks on civilians and disruption of humanitarian relief: such tactics further reveal the Bush Administration's Middle East policy for the ethically bankrupt disaster it has always been. CHARLES BERGMAN Omaha, Neb.

TIME referred to Hizballah's "Struggle with Israel." What exactly is Hizballah struggling for? Israel pulled out of every last inch of Lebanese territory in 2000. Hizballah is a terrorist organization, armed to the teeth by Iran and Syria and firing rockets into Israel in order to maim and kill as many civilians as possible. In no way can this murderous aggression be considered a "struggle." LARRY BIGIO Zichron Yaakov, Israel

Your photographs of the destruction in Lebanon took me back to World War II and images of the devastation in Europe. But sadder still were the pictures of the young boys in Hizballah's al-Mahdi scout club being taught to hate their fellow man. They are being robbed of their childhood and often their life. DEREK J. WAITE Toronto

The College Gender Gap

Barbara Ehrenreich's Essay about boys goofing off at college while girls are overachieving was nothing more than the flip side of the stories during the 1950s and '60s that claimed women went to college only to find husbands [July 31]. I didn't care to be stereotyped that way back then, and as the mother of 18-year-old twin sons who are honor students, eagle scouts, Young Democrats and all-around solid citizens, I deeply resent such a demeaning picture of the current crop of young men. Surely there are also plenty of unfocused, lazy, binge-drinking young women on today's campuses. CHRISTINA M. KAPMA Springfield, Ohio

Many American men shy away from careers that require glowing academic records. But why? Ehrenreich didn't say. In our feminized culture, when it comes to higher education, the average guy is truly left behind. PAUL V. PHILLIPINO Falmouth, Mass.

Iconic Wannabe

TIME's Verbatim column quoted rich socialite Paris Hilton, who said, "Every decade has an iconic blond like Marilyn Monroe or Princess Diana, and right now I'm that icon" [July 31]. Was she kidding? Hilton couldn't hold the handbags of those women. They were just as beautiful on the inside as on the outside. Hilton is no more than a lifeless doll. TIFFANY SERVICE Utica, N.Y.