Pause Bombing to Aid Starving Afghans

The number of Afghans at risk of starving this winter far exceeds the number of Americans likely to die in any number of terrorist attacks in coming years. International aid agencies have called for a pause in bombing so that enough food can be delivered before the heavy winter snows. We need to heed this call, even if it delays achieving our military objectives. To ignore it would be to justify those who preach hate against America. It would guarantee the next generation of terrorists and doom our country to years of terror and war.

The Bush administration needs to pause the bombing. If it will not, it needs to explain to the world what it is doing to prevent mass starvation in Afghanistan.

William F. Avrin

San Diego

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I watched a documentary on Afghanistan, not the first one I have seen. It struck me again that the Afghan people are beaten, vanquished. Not the Taliban, not the terrorists, but the people. The Afghan people are downtrodden, hopeless and submissive. Were I making decisions regarding the fate of Afghanistan, the first thing I would order is that within each of the hundreds of thousands of food packets we are dropping would be a small, fully loaded handgun. Attached to it would be a simple message: “Free yourselves of your oppressors.” I see little hope for the Afghans if they do not do just that.

Bob Winners

Glendale

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Beside every article about civilian deaths in Afghanistan from our bombing, you should place a box reminding everyone that America sustained over 5,000 civilian deaths from unprovoked attacks. We have every right to retaliate against a country that harbors the instigator of such an outrage until he is surrendered to us for a trial, instead of a slaughter like the one Osama bin Laden inflicted on our innocent civilians.

A.W. Wallace

La Crescenta