• Why is the United States in Afghanistan? What is the essence of its operations? There are reports, which state that certain ISAF countries do not have helicopters that are crucial to the war effort. It should be remembered that the Americans were clearly enjoying the debacle Russia was in when it was involved in a rather similar situation. The West and Pakistan now are in a similar situation: that of utter confusion.

The worry is that Pakistan’s agenda may well not be in sync with that of its Western allies. Further, one wonders when the US will realise that relying on Pakistan to defeat the Taliban or tackle the issue of terrorism may not be the wisest strategy.

— M.K.D. Prasada Rao

Ghaziabad

If in office

• This refers to ‘No NSG scale-down, government assures House’. Providing security cover at the cost of the taxpayer to those who hold key positions in the government is justifiable. It however becomes an issue when such security is provided after they demit their office. The government should not yield to the threats of former ministers over withdrawing NSG or other security cover. Some politicians treat security as a symbol of status rather than a process of necessity.

— M.C. Joshi

Lucknow

Play to win

• The arguments presented in favour of Test cricket as the most unpredictable format of the game need to be critically examined. Once that is done one realises that they can be made for both one day and Twenty-20 cricket as well. The Ashes may not die. However, other Test matches are often played in front of empty stands due to their low-key nature.

... contd.