Letters

(2 of 3)

Without nuclear capability, the only response that a nation like Iraq would have to the high-tech war that you described would be terrorism. Going to war with Iraq would endanger not the U.S. military but our civilian population.
PAUL WANKOWICZ
Winchester, Mass.

The U.S. has often underestimated the strength of its enemies. Iraq wouldn't line up its forces in an open field. Your chart on the strength of the Iraqi forces relative to those of the U.S. stated that the Iraqi navy poses no threat to U.S. ships. But what kind of navy did it take to kill 17 U.S. sailors and severely damage their ship near Yemen? The likelihood that the Iraqi conflict would take the direction that is anticipated by U.S. military strategists is remote.
C. TODD VERGIELS
Toledo, Ohio

President Bush should be applauded for taking a courageous stand against Saddam's regime and its reckless pursuit of weapons of mass destruction. The riskiest option for dealing with Iraq is to do nothing. Inaction would only give Saddam time to complete his malicious pursuit of nuclear weapons and would embolden tyrants and terrorists everywhere. Acting now to disarm Saddam, using military force if necessary, is the only way we will keep America safe.
JAMIE M. WHITE
Eldorado, Ill.

The people of the U.S. have a conscience. We are willing to fight but reluctant to kill indiscriminately, to inflict suffering upon children and their families. We recognize that President Bush has never gone without food, shelter, medicine or clean drinking water. Will he walk among the stricken children of Iraq to feel their pain? The Iraqis too have a basic right to life and a right to defend themselves. I challenge the President to act with wisdom, not belligerence, to act with fairness and to resist the urge to go to war with Iraq.
STEVE MOSKOWITZ
Boston

If the U.S. thinks its military and economic supremacy is unsurpassable, it is deluding itself; if the U.S. considers itself the only and final authority in branding any country or any group as terrorist, it is wrong. It would be just and prudent for the U.S. to act in concert with others besides Britain and respect world opinion when it comes to Iraq, Israel or any other global issue.
MESHKAT AHMED CHOWDHURY
Dhaka

You cannot fight terrorism with terrorism. If the U.S. is so concerned about Iraqi citizens' welfare, it should stop its oppression of Iraqis through the trade embargo.
ANDREW LEPPARD
Adelaide, Australia

President and Peacemaker

The U.S. should make much more of the distinction bestowed upon Jimmy Carter by the Nobel Committee [People, Oct. 21]. Not everyone agrees that he was a poor President. For many of us, he remains a man of profound integrity and intelligence. He didn't preach about compassion, but he was compassionate. He never pretended to have style, a quality attributed to Ronald Reagan, but the superlative quality of Carter's mind reminds us of what true style is.
J. PATRICE MARANDEL
Los Angeles

The humanitarian work Carter does as an ex-President is just a continuation of the work he did as President.
MARC BOGERD
Bangkok

Carter represents the best of America those millions who devote their adult lives to caring for the sick, the poor and the disadvantaged.
CAROL A. KIRGIS
Camarillo, Calif.

Little Hope for the Poor

Your article "The Philadelphia Experiment" looked at educational reforms instituted by independent operators such as Edison Schools, Victory Schools and Chancellor Beacon Academies [Education, Oct. 21]. But by the time students get to the higher elementary grades, it's too late for these independent educational entities to intervene. Many poor children rank significantly behind other children in socialization, motivation and intellectual development before entering kindergarten. This gap widens as these students go on, because poor children don't have access to the same enriching experiences after school and during the summer. Philadelphia's efforts to improve failing schools by turning them over to independent operators will do little to change this bleak outlook because this approach does not address the underlying social issues that cause the problem in the first place.
WALT GARDNER
Los Angeles

They Do It Better in Europe

To get over his disappointment with the dryly academic Museum of Sex in New York City [Essay, Oct. 21], Joel Stein should get to the Sex Museum in Amsterdam. It'll really knock his socks off. With its collection of erotic objets d'art dating from the Roman period, this is a museum where old and young alike try both to satisfy and conceal their voyeuristic sides. The only academic thing about this place is the word museum in its name.
ANDREW LONNGREN
Harbord, Australia