Letters to the Editor: Ending hunger in Afghanistan is our best hope for winning peace

To the editor: To win the peace in Afghanistan, we must continue the fight against hunger there. (“The options for U.S. withdrawal in Afghanistan? Either a bad deal or no deal at all,” Opinion, Aug. 29)

Hunger afflicts about 13 million people in Afghanistan, according to the United Nations. Child malnutrition rates are still high.

While the Afghan government and the Taliban must learn to coexist peacefully, we can do something to reinforce peace. We can ensure every child has enough food and nutrition to survive and grow. We can help small farmers overcome drought.

Relief agencies like the World Food Program, Save the Children and Catholic Relief Services need funding to meet the growing needs. Food is a vital ingredient to win the peace in Afghanistan.

William Lambers, Cincinnati

The writer is an author and journalist who has written extensively on world hunger.

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To the editor: I salute the L.A. Times for continuing to print opinion pieces by those who want to end U.S. military involvement in Afghanistan.

Our new normal is to allow our military men and women to die in vain when our government sends them off to fight in “stupid” wars. That is the opinion of Gil Barndollar, a senior fellow at the Defense Priorities think tank.

For years, military historians like Andrew Bacevich have been calling for withdrawal of all American military in Afghanistan. I, as an ordinary citizen, may not know all the facts, but these individuals and organizations do.

As far as safe havens go for the likes of Al Qaeda and Islamic State, they can be found in Pakistan, an ally of ours. It is up to the international community to step up and do whatever it takes to fight those threats.

It’s time to call it quits in Afghanistan and bring our troops home — now.

Benny Wasserman, La Palma

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To the editor: How many times do our foreign policy “experts” have to be wrong before they are not called experts anymore?

Gregg Scott, Los Angeles