Letters: Sharply Divided Views On Afghan War Crim

I find it very hard to feel sorry for the "surrendered Taliban" who were asphyxiated. How many women have the Taliban murdered? How many lost their livelihoods because they were not allowed to work? How many suffered from humiliation, a lack of education and who knows what other traumas? These Taliban prisoners almost certainly took part in the gender apartheid mandated by their version of Islam. At the very least, they knew what was happening to their mothers and sisters. Perhaps the punishment fits the crime.
Barbara Ardinger
Long Beach, Calif.

As a spiritual-minded American, I was appalled to read of the Nazi-like torture (and murder) of prisoners in Afghanistan. Some Americans may believe that all is fair in love and war, but this attitude is surely not one inspired by God. It is instead an attitude of revenge that propels the cycle of war and war crimes from one generation to the next. The truly righteous do not enjoy others' misery or their deaths. I hope others share my horror at the atrocities committed against any human being. Compassion is the ultimate lesson that "kills" sin of any variety.
John C. Manigaulte
Kings Park, N.Y.

The largely sensationalistic tone of your article "The Death Convoy of Afghanistan" may leave your readers with some serious misconceptions. While the authors state that NEWSWEEK found nothing to indicate that American forces "had advance knowledge of the killings, witnessed the prisoners being stuffed into the unventilated trucks or were in a position to prevent that," there are several insinuations by the authors that would lead readers to believe otherwise. Once the Department of Defense learned of these allegations, commanders at all levels were asked if the reports were accurate. Thorough debriefing of teams on the ground revealed no evidence of any human-rights violations or witnessing of them by U.S. forces. Despite the authors' claims of obfuscation by DOD personnel, that information was repeatedly provided. I take particular exception to your allegation that official Defense Department spokespersons would deliberately provide false and misleading statements to NEWSWEEK or any other medium. It should also be noted that a significant media presence was in the vicinity throughout this period with no reporting of the alleged atrocities.
Victoria Clarke
Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs
U.S. Department of Defense
Washington, D.C.

Editor's note: NEWSWEEK thoroughly documented the Defense Department's response to our reporting in the story. We stand by our report.

It's a Hard Doc Life

Thank you, NEWSWEEK and Mary K. Moore, for highlighting the vicissitudes of medical-residency training ("Fitting Our Marriage in Between Beeps," My Turn, Aug. 26). During my internship I started falling asleep in restaurants with my mouth full, then progressed to falling asleep at the wheel, eventually totaling my car. If prisoners, who have harmed society, were asked to work 80-hour weeks and 36-hour shifts, there would be a huge cry from human-rights organizations. Why then must residents--who act to support society--work similar, if not worse, hours? With as many as 90,000 deaths per year due to medical error, and fatigue the primary cause of impaired judgment, it would at least behoove our patients, if not our residents, to mandate legal limitations to their work hours.
Jordan Fieldman, M.D.
Pittsfield, Mass.