Letters

THE SECRET KILLER

"The connection of inflammation to major degenerative diseases will be one of the hottest topics in medicine for years to come." STEVE FAZIA Fort Mill, S.C.

Your article on the destructive effects that chronic inflammation can have on the body answered myriad questions about the relationships among various illnesses [Feb. 23]. You provided potentially lifesaving information. I now have a new direction to pursue that may help me receive aggressive medical treatment. There was more information in this article than I have received in the past year from my family doctor, neurologist and orthopedic surgeon combined. JEAN AYOTTE White Lake, Wis.

Thanks so much for your report. Only four years ago, after I returned from Africa and a stint in the Peace Corps, I had trouble convincing physicians that my ongoing digestive-tract problems (later diagnosed as irritable-bowel syndrome) seemed to be linked to periodic hives and aching muscles and joints. The docs were stumped. Now I realize that ailments like mine afflict many people. Your article clarified the mechanisms by which these reactions occur in the body. This understanding, along with new discoveries about the links between inflammation and psychological ailments such as depression and stress, may lead us to a better appreciation of the mind-body connection and holistic therapies used for centuries by other cultures. TODD CROSBY Washington

I am a practicing dentist and was pleased that you referred to gum disease as a source of chronic inflammation. But I was surprised you did not explore the link in greater detail. The relationship between gum disease and systemic disease, specifically heart disease, has been widely reported. Your article takes it to the next step. The overall ability of the body to heal and stay healthy is certainly compromised by a chronic infection like gum disease. People need to learn how to achieve and maintain dental health. ROBERT DEL PRESTO Brick, N.J.

In your report on inflammation, you noted that the drug Remicade, which this company produces, can target specific inflammatory problems and has been effective against rheumatoid arthritis. You also said that patients who take Remicade "are slightly more likely to develop tuberculosis." You should have made clear that this risk of tuberculosis is not unique to Remicade but has been observed in other biotech drugs that target disease in the same fashion, including Enbrel. With proper screening and patient monitoring, the tuberculosis risk can be managed. JEROME A. BOSCIA, M.D. SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT FOR CLINICAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CENTOCOR INC. Malvern, Pa.

Egad! After reading your article on how inflammation is linked to death in so many ways, I told my wife to start planning my funeral, because I could drop dead any minute. Having seen so many older Americans successfully deal with illness into their 90s, however, I am taking the whole article with a grain of salt. DALE HILL Washita, Okla.

LIFE DURING WARTIME

In Joe Klein's column about how going to war in Iraq has become a key election issue [Feb. 23], he wrote, "There is a strong sense in the highest reaches of the intelligence community that the larger campaign against terrorism ... has been retarded by the Iraq adventure." Klein went on to quote an intelligence gatherer as saying that "our actions in Iraq have caused a net increase in terrorists." Golly, who woulda thunk that? Anyone who said that an invasion of Iraq would not incite Muslim extremists was either a liar or a fool. Where was your cover story before the war asking whether an invasion of Iraq might provoke terrorist acts? PHILIP CALLAS Tustin, Calif.

Klein stated that "the struggle against Islamic radicalism is a festival of nuance. It is not quite a war, and it doesn't yield easily to simple notions of good and evil, friend and foe." That point of view is precisely why Americans will never trust a Democratic President to protect them. We are smart enough to reject an all-talk, no-action approach to security threats in which we sit around endlessly yakking with intractable friends and implacable foes. There are 50 years of damage to undo from such policies, and it is nothing short of remarkable that in three years, the Bush doctrine has pinned back the ears of terrorist groups and their supporting states. PAUL BURICH Milpitas, Calif.

In order to sideline Bush in November, Democrat John Kerry has to figure out how to address two related foreign policy issues: what he would have done differently or smarter in the Middle East in 2003 and what is a better defense than a pre-emptive strike in this age of sneaky suicidal terrorists and hard-to-detect weapons of mass destruction. Kerry needs to convince voters that he won't make troublesome mistakes in the way President Bush has. LEO J. MAHONEY Kars, Turkey

In noting that some officials see the Saudis as the root of the problem, Klein was right on the money--the Saudi money that supports the extremist Wahhabi sect and has enriched those who have helped Saudi Arabia. If the money that the Bush Administration has spent on Iraq had been invested in finding innovative sources of energy, the West could cut its dependence on the al-Saud family and reduce the funds available to finance terrorism--not to mention save the lives of young American service members. ARTHUR LIEBER Gland, Switzerland

THE DEMISE OF DR. ATKINS

Your article about Dr. Robert Atkins, creator of the high-protein, low-carbohydrate Atkins diet had the appalling title "Paging Dr. Fatkins?" [Feb. 23]. You noted that the medical examiner's report showed that Atkins was surprisingly hefty when he died last April, and you commented on the cruelty of the anti-fat bloggers who called him Dr. Fatkins. But what do you think you did to his memory and his family? No matter what you think of Atkins' ideas and diet, the man is deceased, and you certainly showed him no respect. ELANA BERLINGER East Windsor, N.J.

DANGEROUS LIAISONS

After reading "Cuddle With Care," on the diseases people can get from their pets [Feb. 23], I have decided to get rid of my dog and cat. My whole neighborhood is doing the same thing. Actually, I am kidding. But articles like yours will unfortunately cause many people to react in this way. You advise owners to wash their hands after touching a pet. But how many people take the time to do that? Pretty few, I imagine. How many pets are going to lose their homes because of your story? STEVE KLEIMAN Granger, Ind.

BUSH'S DAYS IN UNIFORM

It's senseless to bicker over whether young George W. Bush played hooky from his Air National Guard duties in 1972 [Feb. 23]. Who among us would want our youthful exploits examined with such critical 20/20 hindsight? What is of greater concern to me is that Bush, after scoring poorly on a pilot-aptitude test, leapfrogged over 500 men who were waiting in line for a coveted position in the Texas Guard. Sadly, a man with money, powerful connections and poor test scores cut in front of qualified men fairly waiting their turn. DOUG MCCULLY Claremont, Calif.

His three years as commander in chief and his victories in Afghanistan and Iraq show what President Bush has learned about leadership. There is no smoking gun in the story of his National Guard service. I don't question John Kerry's war record, but his Senate voting record over the past 20 years makes me happy he was not the person at the helm on 9/11. KEVIN MCCANN Maple Grove, Minn.

Military service creates an air of camaraderie, like friendship among college classmates. It is strange that only one person from the Alabama Guard remembers Bush. Either Bush was not seen much, or he didn't have any buddies. His defenders say his service record should be irrelevant if he is a good President and Commander in Chief. But would my company keep me if it found out I didn't go to the college I said I graduated from but instead only showed up for freshman orientation? ADAM A. BROSTOW Emmaus, Pa.

While I accept the explanation that Bush decided not to renew his flight physical because he was no longer flying the jet he had trained on, I think it is remarkable that he was able to make a decision that negatively affected his combat-readiness status. I served in the military, and I had no idea that I could have just decided to opt out of required training or physical exams. JACK SLADE Knoxville, Tenn.

WHAT MAKES A PRESIDENT?

Columnist Charles Krauthammer's claim in "Medals Don't Make a President" that President John F. Kennedy was responsible for getting the U.S. into the Vietnam War was way off target [Feb. 23]. Kennedy was seeking to de-escalate the conflict. And the implication that Bush is somehow better equipped than Kennedy was to lead the country into war is ridiculous. Let's compare 1,000 days of the Kennedy Administration with 1,000 days of Bush's. In his short time in office, Kennedy pursued nuclear-arms reduction, fought for civil rights and established the Peace Corps. In the same amount of time, Bush has run up a massive budget deficit, alienated most of the world and given tax cuts to the very rich. John F. Kennedy vs. George W. Bush? It's a no-brainer! JAMES HICKEY Denver

Kennedy inherited U.S. involvement in Vietnam from Dwight Eisenhower, a Republican, although the U.S. role in Vietnam actually began during the Truman Administration. At no point in the conflict did the U.S. manage to connect the dots: the North Vietnamese were fighting a nationalist war of independence as much as a war for communism. A war simply for communism might have been beatable, but a war for independence was not. CHRIS ROWLEY Ellenville, N.Y.

Democrat Lyndon B. Johnson led the U.S. deeper into the Vietnam War. After years of American entanglement, the U.S. was finally extricated by Richard Nixon. The blunders of the Bush Administration are manifold and global, so artful comparisons like Krauthammer's are at least partly inaccurate and tend to blur the political picture. A truthful evaluation of what Bush has done is all the more important, as any additional unilateralism will further erode the U.S.'s standing and harm its allies. EDGAR P. HAPPAP Fianarantsoa, Madagascar

Krauthammer argued against the apparent Democratic logic that a decorated military man is capable of wise leadership as President. The biggest mistake made in Vietnam was to continue the war, as President Johnson did. And Kerry's calling Vietnam "Nixon's war" can be justified. Nixon was a cold warrior. He didn't want to lose in Vietnam, and he ordered the secret bombings of Laos and Cambodia. WONG CHUN HAN Singapore

Medals, schmedals! Forget all the hullabaloo about Bush's Guard service and Kerry's war decorations. The real question is, Who is honest? We know who is not! And that's pretty fundamental to November's presidential election. IAN FRANK Geneva

It is valid to note that having war medals is no guarantee of achieving a successful presidency, but Krauthammer missed one relevant point: the use and misuse of power and privilege to extract special treatment. This is how Bush managed to escape having to serve in Vietnam. The debate is not about the relevance of war experience or military medals; it is about character and moral values. Krauthammer did a good job of defending Bush's background, but it was not good enough. That Bush is flawed as a human being is clear from his use of his father's position to get special treatment. MAN MOHAN KAPUR Gurgaon, India

Kerry fought in Vietnam in the 1960s. That was a valuable experience because it gave him an understanding of the suffering, pain, brutality and injustice of war. And now Kerry may be more careful and reluctant to declare war on countries that don't fit into the U.S.'s view of the world. KIM SAE-YUNG Seoul

Krauthammer missed the point. It is whether Bush, because of his privileged background, was given a soft posting while others were sent to Vietnam and whether he failed to serve his country fully. It is fine for a President to talk about patriotism and land on aircraft-carrier decks, but it is not so good for that same President to appear to have had a different standard when it was his turn to serve his country. MAHOMED LADHA London

STRETCHING CREDULITY

In "When Credibility Becomes An Issue" [Feb. 16], you noted that President Bush must face questions about his trustworthiness in defending the intelligence about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction (WMD) that he relied on and that led to war. It is shameful to realize only after hundreds of people have been killed that we were duped about WMD. The President owes us the truth about the reasons for starting an unacceptable war. ANUAR ASFANDI JAMALUDIN Kedah, Malaysia

Your report on Bush's credibility problems convinced me that Americans don't trust their President anymore. They desperately want a leader who can protect them. So long as al-Qaeda isn't destroyed and Osama bin Laden isn't dead, the U.S. and the international community won't feel safe. If bin Laden is captured or killed and al-Qaeda is vanquished, the world will be much safer for all of us. If Bush can accomplish those things, Americans may forgive him and let him stay in the White House for another four years. If not, a Democrat may defeat Bush. Americans must be careful about how they cast their ballots. EZRA A. ADAM JR. Addis Ababa

PENALTY ON THE PLAY

The exposure of Janet Jackson's breast during the Super Bowl halftime musical show [Feb. 16] just proved that she is a good sister and loves her brother very much. She has succeeded in taking the entertainment headlines from Michael, giving him a break. THERESA UBALDE Las Pinas, the Philippines