In respone to Elton Wong’s column of August 31, it’s understandable that generalizations must often be made in the interest of brevity, but more care should be taken when the good names and reputations of innocent people are at stake. I am from Colombia, and I belong to a military family. Most of the men I know have served in the army and for two decades fought in the war that you wrote about. I also served in the Colombian army for three years. My cousin was wounded and my best friend was killed in anti-narcotics operations. They were honest men and fought for the Colombian democracy, which is just as old as American democracy. I cannot deny that violations of human rights by some members of the Colombian armed forces have occurred, but when you refer to the “corrupt and cruel Colombian army” you are generalizing too much. There are thousands of good men and women in Colombia who have fought in the war on drugs during their tours, but your blanket condemnation of the Colombian military steps on their graves and smears their good names. It’s easy to talk about far away problems while sitting safely in Ames, but real people are putting their lives in danger to stop the flow of narcotics into this country, and they deserve our respect. Ricardo Rodriguez

Physics