Letters: Jul. 17, 2006

India Ascending A democracy of more than 1 billion people, many profiting from a reformed economy, India is turning itself into a primary player in the global marketplace. Readers welcomed the rise of a free society, although not without a few misgivings from Americans about what it means for U.S. workers

As an Indian from Bombay, I loved reading your stories about my home country [June 26]. From Tarrytown to Tallahassee, people are thinking about India. They want to know where Chennai and Hyderabad are on the map. Colleagues in the Midwest are rushing to do a stint working in India, which has come to be seen as a rung on the corporate ladder. Unlike China, which gate-crashed into Western households with everything from kitchen knives to toilet-tissue holders, India has made an unhurried entry through communication portals. But India must not allow corruption and bureaucratic incompetence to slow it down in the race with China. KRISH V. KRISHNAN Wilmette, Ill.

The Cover Story on the rise of India was outstanding. Visitors in the past might have felt India’s problems were overwhelming, but there is hope for the masses of the subcontinent. It goes to show what can be accomplished by millions of people with a work ethic, an appreciation for education, a culture of thrift and family, and a recognition of the value of being able to speak English well in the global marketplace. PAUL H. GORE Oakland, Ore.

Your reporting stated that “Few modern Americans … are shocked to hear how vital Indians have been to California’s high-tech industry.” With regard to outsourcing, you quoted an Indian executive’s observation that “the jobs will go to those who can do them best, in the most cost-effective manner. Geography is irrelevant.” So American workers are losing jobs to insourcing as well as outsourcing! We can’t get a break. JOSEPH MICHAEL SIMASEK Morganton, N.C.

At Odds over the War

In “Why Bush Is (Still) Winning The War at Home” [June 26], columnist Joe Klein asked, “How is it possible … for the Democrats to seem so bollixed about the war and for the President to seem so confident?” The President’s political survival has been tied from Day One to never admitting a mistake. The Democrats, on the other hand, are looking carefully at the problems brought on by the President’s recklessness. Then, from their various viewpoints, they are attempting to propose policy solutions that might stand a chance of turning things around in Iraq or at least saving lives. What looks bollixed to Klein appears to me to resemble evidence of a genuine policy debate, which is what many Democrats (and some Republicans) have sought for months. TED PAULY New York City

Klein failed to provide any useful advice for the confused and divided Democrats, as they argue about withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq. He stated that the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Mousab al-Zarqawi, was “eliminated through terrific intelligence work and air power, neither of which required a substantial U.S. ground presence in Iraq.” Klein ignored the tremendous value U.S. ground forces contribute to that intelligence environment and to the targeting capability used to eliminate al-Zarqawi. ROBERT BILLINGS Lake Mary, Fla.