Readers Write: Nov. 6

Buchanan a bad resource for military strategy

Pat Buchanan’s recent column (“U.S. looking at bad options after years of Mideast wars,” Opinion, Oct. 27) starts out well assessing the players’ goals. Assad (president of Syria) wants to stay in power at any price. Rouhani (president of Iran) seeks an uninterrupted flow of arms and influence from Iran to the Lebanon. Putin (president of Russia) wants a warm-weather Mediterranean port and to be a strategic counterweight to American influence in the region. American strategy was tentative in the Obama era and is no clearer with Trump other than saying Assad must go.

That’s a weak strategy in a region, where, aside from Israel, there are no democratic nations. Worse yet, Buchanan provides no prescriptions. Rather he falsely accuses Netanyahu (prime minister of Israel) of seeking to start a war with Syria. For a man with no military service, Buchanan is a poor resource for military strategy. Furthermore, his well-documented anti-Israel and anti-Jewish sentiments have colored his analysis. AJC readers deserve a better columnist from the right than Buchanan.

RICH LAPIN, DUNWOODY

Braves shouldn’t let talent slip from fingers

I enjoyed watching the pitching/catching combination of Charlie Morton and Brian McCann help the Houston Astros win the exciting World Series. Both are former Atlanta Braves. It makes me wonder: If we didn’t let talented players slip through our fingers, could the Braves hand in a World Series victory?

GAIL PUCCI, LILBURN