To the Editor:

Re “America’s Forever Wars” (editorial, Oct. 23):

Your welcome editorial describes the scale, range and duration of the multiple American military operations abroad. Now Americans need to ask what vital national interest is served by our continuing wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria and our more recent military operations in Yemen, Somalia and Niger.

Why should the Pentagon be allowed to conduct “secret assignments” without public knowledge?

Are we increasing the risk of ISIS and Qaeda terror attacks at home when we bomb their strongholds abroad? Are soldiers’ lives and the trillions spent on proactive combat worth the cost?

Overreliance on the military neglects the more cost-efficient and lifesaving soft power of diplomacy.

L. MICHAEL HAGER, EASTHAM, MASS.

The writer is a co-founder and former director general of the International Development Law Organization in Rome.