American Troops in Somalia

* Viewing the appalling sight of a dead, mutilated American Ranger being dragged through the streets of Mogadishu by rampaging mobs sickens and enrages my sensibilities, as does the ill-defined decision of President Clinton to commit additional soldiers to this doomed undertaking.

The bankrupt theory of slowly “raising the stakes” by adding a minimum number of troops and assets to a conflict proved disastrous in Vietnam and Lebanon, and is being demonstrated to be a harbinger for failure in Somalia.

The original noble intent of the mission to Somalia, in support of a United Nations mandate, has degenerated into a quagmire of ineptitude, with a plethora of lame excuses being offered as the facade to maintain an American presence in this land of turmoil and chaos.

FRED LANDESMAN

Chatsworth

* I’m glad President Clinton wants to pull out troops by early 1994, but that isn’t soon enough (Oct. 8). Former President Bush and the military’s hawks have gotten us into another expensive, useless war. How many hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars will be wasted between now and the eventual pullout? How many boys who were too stupid to avoid military service will be killed? Why is there always money for the military’s war games, to protect Arab oil interests, for useless Pentagon toys like “Star Wars,” but never any money for mental health, health coverage, social services, etc.?

The military-industrial complex and its secret government is still in control, isn’t it?

KEN HERMAN

Northridge

* What purpose does your photo captioned “Horror in Mogadishu” (Oct. 5) serve? This story was covered in print on Page 1. American soldiers were killed. What gives you the right to publish a photo of that soldier being subjected to the barbaric treatment of the people he is supposedly helping. No, he can’t feel anything, but his family can.

WAYNE LeBAIL

Huntington Beach

* Never have I seen a more thought-provoking photo than the one of an American soldier’s body being dragged through the streets of Mogadishu. Are these the very people we are trying to help? Is this our thanks? We are being laughed at, America.

AL SHINKLE

Manhattan Beach

* College student Clinton protested against American soldiers dying in a war waged by our government in a futile attempt at nation-building in Vietnam. Now, President Clinton sends American soldiers to die needlessly in pursuit of his Administration’s futile attempt at nation-building in Somalia. Maybe if Clinton had spent his college years on a tour of duty in Vietnam instead of touring England while avoiding the draft at Oxford College he would be less enthusiastic about embroiling our country in another hopeless conflict in Somalia.

CHARLES J. UMEDA

Loma Linda

* What are the United States’ interests in Somalia? Is Somalia a threat to the national or economic security of the United States?

If the answer to these questions is “no,” we must ask, why are American lives being put at risk in Somalia?

Our military leaders are once again trotting out the tired, vintage-1965 Vietnam justifications for adding to our commitment in Somalia. They were incredibly wrongheaded then; 30 years later it appears the lessons of Vietnam were never learned, or worse, are being ignored.

WALLACE BERRIE

Pacific Palisades

* During World War II, the American forces did not hesitate to bomb Dresden in an effort to hit the retreating German troops. In doing so thousand of civilian life were taken.

In the same war, to avoid a bloody invasion of Japan, two atomic bombs were dropped on civilian targets with the well-known toll in innocent human lives.

As an instrument of pressure in North Vietnam, the Air Force repeatedly bombed Hanoi, with thousands of civilian casualties.

In Lebanon there was no hesitation in using the 16-inch cannons of the battleship New Jersey against refugee camps; and in the Gulf War, the massive use of cruise missiles on Baghdad resulted in the death of countless civilians.

Considering the past records, I have really many problems in understanding why the naval and/or aerial bombing are not used in Somalia. Are the Somalis more valuable than the Germans or the Japanese or the Arabs? Or, perhaps, are our troops less valuable than in the past?

If your Rangers had the support of naval artillery or airplanes, America would not be mourning the lives of 12 servicemen.

FABRIZIO REMOTTI

Los Angeles