Slaughter in Bosnia

* The world’s inaction to stop the slaughter of people in Bosnia and elsewhere on the planet speaks loudly of the distasteful reality that we humans still can watch genocide, rape and murder, vocalize somewhat about it and continue to do nothing. Personally I believe that our inaction is more reprehensible than the actions of the perpetrators. I feel embarrassed to be a human being.

HOWARD H. BLEICHER

Studio City

* In response to “Beyond Vietnam,” by Charles A. Kupchan, Opinion, April 17:

Kupchan said, “Comparing Bosnia to Vietnam was wrongheaded for two reasons”--essentially that the Cold War is over and our goal is limited in Bosnia.

When I awoke with a sucking chest wound in an Army field hospital at Cu Chi, lying in the very next bed was a 14-year-old Viet Cong with two short stumps for legs, all bandaged and oozing. There was a soldier at the end of the bed with a loaded weapon watching the kid. I was told he had already tried to escape twice. That’s what we were fighting in Vietnam. We came with our technology, our partial commitments, and a “limited” goal, fighting people who had the driven, emotional determination that came from the belief that they had to fight to the last breath to defend their homeland. In Bosnia we would be going in with our “limited” goal to take on centuries-old emotionally driven religious and ethnic hatreds. We could go anywhere, do anything in Vietnam, and, as in Afghanistan for the Russians, we could never win.

It’s the hearts and minds of the people, stupid.

CHUCK BENNETT

Ojai

* President Clinton’s handling of the Bosnia situation leaves much to be desired. If instead of running away from the Vietnam issue, he had participated in a college ROTC program or had served in the military, he probably would be much better at negotiations. First and foremost, diplomacy with tyrants works only when you are willing to use your military advantage if required.

I attended a land-grant college (University of Wisconsin) and I had to take two years of ROTC. There was no choice, it was mandatory during the ‘50s. Did I like it? No. Do I regret it? No. I learned that there is no glory to war. However, I also learned that if one did not understand and use his military advantage, playing diplomacy with a tyrant is a losing proposition. From Hitler to Radovan Karadzic, all tyrants are alike. Their object is to win, no matter what it costs in human life and misery.

Does Clinton really think that dropping less than a dozen bombs in the course of months is really going to frighten a tyrant who is dropping three cannon shells a minute? Let’s get real! In summary, can our nation develop a successful foreign policy when the leadership is someone who has no training or understanding of what the military is all about?

DAN BOWMAN

San Clemente

* Has anybody noticed that all of those people who criticize President Clinton for not being more aggressive in sending our military forces to places like Bosnia are the same people who attack him if any of our people get killed or injured in the operation? If they know a way to fight a war without getting some of our people killed, I sure wish they would let the rest of us in on their secret.

SANFORD THIER

Palos Verdes Estates