Sir, - In reply to Tony Murphy's reply (February 17th) to Kevin Myers's excellent column on the White Paper on Defence (February 11th), I'm sure most members of the Defence Forces are aware of the employment situation outside their barracks door. But, because of a sense of patriotism or a need to serve they choose to work long days in adverse conditions for little pay or gratitude. They do this so that Mr Murphy can sleep safely in his bed and can write letters without fear of being abducted in the middle of the night. Costa Rica has less that two million people living on the island, of which more than 20,000 are Americans. That pretty much guarantees the intervention of the most powerful superpower in the world at a time of crisis.
In a country like ours where there is an active terrorist problem and a political problem that has the potential of making Bosnia look like a walk in the park, a highly trained, highly motivated and appropriately manned military should be a necessity and should be cherished, not neglected and abused by the very people it unselfishly serves. - Yours, etc.
Sean O'Gorman, Millburn, NJ USA.