As a member of a U.S. Army Reserve Civil Affairs Command that has the Persian Gulf as its area of operation, I found Fredric Smoler’s discussion of the analogies to Munich and Vietnam (“What Does History Have to Say about the Persian Gulf?,” November) particularly thought-provoking, as was his treatment of the contemporary problems in that region. I believe he has done a most excellent service to your readers by presenting our nation’s options from this unique perspective.