Andrew Bacevich’s sober analysis of the situation in the Middle East was right on target (“War and culture, American style,’’ Ideas, April 24). As he says, we have grown to like our wars, but we don’t want to fight in them, much less pay for them outright.

Unfortunately, our enemies in the Middle East have the will to fight, unlike the government forces we try to prop up. We have seen this movie before, with a motivated Viet Cong vs. a weak and corrupt South Vietnamese army.

As a country, we have outsourced our defense to a small, brave, and stressed military force and, worse, to an ever-increasing number of military contractors.

Now we are reaping that harvest.

Jeremiah Minihan

Rochester, N.H.