A 48-Hour Pause for Mideast Peace

Your editorial is right on. Reports from the field say we have run out of planned targets to strike in Iraq and are now going after “targets of opportunity.” The Pentagon has had plenty of opportunity to test most of its new gadgets on real targets and raise its hopes for an expanded budget. Iraq has been reduced to a state of bare survival. What is to be gained by continuing the aerial attacks but more suffering for the Iraqi people and our troops?

Hussein is in no position to attack us in any meaningful way. In fact, we could stop all our attacks now, sit back and let the economic sanctions do the rest of the job. It might take several days or even months for Hussein to face reality, but a ground attack by our forces would be senseless, bloody and would prove nothing.

FRANK V. WILBY

Los Angeles