The article "Sources: CIA may run Afghan War" [News, March 4] recalls a reverse strategy taken during the U.S. war in Indochina. In that bloody war, the CIA ran things until President Lyndon Johnson realized the war's futility. He went to Congress, had the war transferred from the CIA to the Defense Department, and got the power to enlarge it by sending in the Marines.

Unfortunately, the leaders of this country don't seem to learn from mistakes; others pay the price of their folly. War should be the last resort of a decent people; the only justification for it is as defense against an aggressor.

Osama bin Laden has been eliminated. To continue fighting the Afghan people, whether by military or clandestine means, is not justified. Unjustified imperial wars have sapped the idealism and resources of our country, leading to the corruption of many sectors of national life and a loss of confidence of people everywhere about our national purpose. It is time to rethink and change direction.

Robert M. Goldberg, Jericho

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