To the Editor:
Re “U.S. Is Responsible in School Strike, Early Review Says” (front page, March 12):
The preliminary findings on the American missile strike that destroyed an elementary school in Minab, Iran, killing scores of children, should alarm every American.
We are not fighting wars with crude tools. Agencies like the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency routinely work with satellite imagery that can be minutes or hours old, and high-priority targets are often monitored in near real time. The technology exists precisely to prevent catastrophic errors like this.
Yet according to the investigation, officers relied on outdated targeting data that was not properly verified against current imagery. That is not simply tragic. It represents a breakdown in the most basic safeguards of modern targeting.
War is always brutal, but modern intelligence systems were designed to reduce civilian deaths. When those safeguards fail through negligence and children die as a result, the responsibility cannot be dismissed as a routine mistake. It is incompetence in war approaching the moral territory of a war crime.
Tom Debley Walnut Creek, Calif.
To the Editor:
The news of the likely fault in the United States’ Tomahawk missile strike on an Iranian elementary school is just the latest example of the cost of the incompetence of the current administration. It displays a lack of understanding, or a lack of care, that human errors — in this case, the military using outdated targeting information — are fully predictable byproducts of going to war.
True military professionals understand that these operations are inherently dangerous, that humans are fallible and make tragic and sometimes deadly mistakes. But the Trump administration’s chain saw approach to driving out experienced personnel has only increased the likelihood of tragedies.
When ignorance and arrogance, from the president on down, are the primary qualifications and characteristics of an entire civilian management team, ignorant and arrogant decisions will be made, and innocent lives will be needlessly lost.
Paul Fisk Latham, N.Y.
To the Editor:
Leave it to ham-handed, know-it-all Republicans to not seek or, worse, even listen to military and diplomatic professionals when venturing into dangerous waters.
Not since George W. Bush opened the Iraq war by letting the world know that the United States was embarking on a “crusade” has any administration so accurately shot themselves in the foot.
Make no mistake, a large number of Iranians welcome this intervention, they just never figured it would come in the form of the annihilation of their country. The tragic and deadly strike on the elementary school in Minab and the American destruction of Iranian cultural and religious sites are evidence that President Trump and his defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, are ignoring the real path to success — the winning of hearts and minds.
That is what the Obama administration was working on before President Trump withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal in 2018, and what the Biden administration later tried to repair. It will be decades before the Iranians ever trust the United States for anything again. In the meantime, we have created a new generation of people who do not wish us well.
Steve Zane Providence, R.I.
To the Editor
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth recently declared that American forces would operate with no “stupid rules of engagement” or engage in “politically correct wars.” The U.S. missile strike on an elementary school in Iran that killed at least 175 civilians, mostly children, shows he is keeping his promise.
Even as this deadly error remains under investigation, it has left a stain on the fabric of our nation that can never be wiped away. As Iranian families grieve and try to come to terms with this unspeakable heartbreak, our president continues to lie about the facts and avoids taking any responsibility. And Americans go about their business, grieving over the price of gas.
Bob Bascelli Seaford N.Y.
To the Editor:
The United States must compensate the families of those children and teachers killed by its errant Tomahawk missile attack. While money won’t heal their deep emotional wounds from these losses, it would show a measure of compassion from those of us who find this war the wrong path to securing safety for all.
Ellen Creane Guilford, Conn.
Kennedy’s Medical School Push
To the Editor:
Re “Kennedy’s Crusade on Nutrition Could Reshape Medical Schools” (front page, March 5):
The idea of the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services — any secretary, but especially the current one — instructing medical schools about what to teach is offensive to any physician and anyone who values academic freedom.
That being said, perhaps four hours of lectures about nutrition, based on published peer-reviewed scientific research over the last two or three decades, would be more appropriate than the one hour I received on this topic when I attended medical school in the 1970s.
My suggestion: one hour about the health advantages of a plant-based diet, one about the health advantages of the Mediterranean diet, one about nutrition in the elderly and one about nutrition in children.
Additional teaching could be included on clinical rotations in pediatrics, medicine, surgery or obstetrics and gynecology, with additional information provided during residency training.
Since physicians are not in control of what a patient eats or what he or she purchases in the markets and serves to the family, perhaps better training in how doctors can get patients to change their behavior might also be included.
No federal official should tell any part of any university what should be taught. End of discussion.
Daniel Fink Beverly Hills, Calif. The writer is a retired internist.
Seniors Embrace City Life
To the Editor:
Re “Retiring Move? Baby Boomers Pick New York” (front page, March 8):
I read this article with special attention as my 96-year-old mother just arrived in London, alone, with her walker, to spend two weeks in an Airbnb she found online. This plan she was insistent on undertaking seemed crazy to my sister and me.
When we visit her in Florida, it is a struggle to get her out of her apartment just to join us at the pool. But now, from London, we hear about her trips to the Burrough Market or the National Gallery on WhatsApp every day. She is almost manically happy with her self-planned holiday.
Cities, she says, pump life into her, unlike at her condo in Coconut Creek. The article reassures me that crazy as she may be, at least she’s trending.
Ursula Abrams Troy, N.Y.
To the Editor:
I loved this article on retiring to New York City. It was a dream of mine, but I could not afford it, so I moved from a small town in Massachusetts to Philadelphia for many of the same reasons described in your article.
Needless to say, I love it. Philadelphia has its own deep cultural vibe, and for seniors there is free public transportation around the city. In addition, New York City is only a little over an hour away, so I consider it within my cultural extended urban area. Life is good.
Barbara Elser Philadelphia
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