Readers React: America’s state of permanent war

To the editor: I always read Andrew J. Bacevich’s columns with the expectation that his insights and intellectual courage will be vividly on display. I have no argument with his “whack-a-mole” metaphor concerning the Middle East or his doubts about the efficacy of President Obama’s “comprehensive policy” on fighting Islamic State. (“Obama’s strategy against Islamic State? Whack-a-mole,” Op-Ed, Sept. 15)

But I wonder if his conclusion, that that we are on the verge of “accepting permanent war as inevitable,” isn’t a ship that’s already sailed. This nation has been at war for the past half-century.

The policy against Islamic State is not designed to succeed; it is designed as a demonstration of American power projection. I learned that, ironically, from reading Professor Bacevich’s many astute and provocative books.

David DiLeo, San Clemente

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To the editor: Just as European peace has grown out of a detente between Christian religious sects, a healing of the rift between Shiite and Sunni sects would be a fundamental step toward peace in the Middle East.

Any strategy that does not take into consideration ending the sectarian divides of the area will certainly not end the whack-a-mole going on today.

There is a precedent: American Muslims coexist peacefully.

Gene Touchet, Palm Springs

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