Letters

(2 of 3)

Canadian beef consumption went up after Canada's single reported case of mad-cow disease last May. We rallied around an industry that we knew was being devastated by paranoia. Unlike Americans, whose media have institutionalized the use of fear, and the Japanese, who used the BSE incident to make a political statement, Canadians looked first at the practical risks. Beef isn't dangerous. This is a matter of faith as well as common sense.
JESSE HEFFRING
Montreal

Spy vs. Spy
Re your report on John Le Carre's new book, Absolute Friends [Jan. 12]: I discovered the novels of Le Carre relatively late in life but then very quickly understood the reasons for his prominence. He has been a brilliant chronicler of world politics, but his ambivalence and ambiguity have been frustrating at times. In Absolute Friends, he shows his moral outrage at the U.S., and this work is all the better for it.
SANJEEV SHARMA
Formby, England

A Threat Within Pakistan
You reported on the assassination attempts on Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf [Jan. 12]. Today the ranks of Pakistan's army are brimming with selfstyled Islamist officers who maintain strong connections with the mullahs. Despite the rhetoric of moderation, Musharraf continues to seek support from anti-U.S. Islamic parties. The threat from within the ranks of Pakistan's armed forces is as strong as the external threat from Islamic hard-liners. If Musharraf falls, there is no guarantee that a moderate general would take over.
MUHAMMAD A. KHAN
Lahore, Pakistan

No country or leader has done more in the fight against terrorism than Musharraf. The attempts on his life are ample proof of his value. Run-of-the-mill politicians in Pakistan would never dream of taking the stances and actions taken by Musharraf, like his approach to the issues of Kashmir, the Taliban and religious extremism. Politicians need votes and have to please the masses, no matter how. Luckily, this is not the case with Musharraf. Pakistan needs a leader like Musharraf, and the U.S. needs him too.
ISPHANYAR BHANDARA
Rawalpindi, Pakistan

Words and Music
Josh Tyrangiel completely missed the mark in his article about [the hip-hop magazine] The Source and our investigation of racism in hip-hop music [Jan. 12]. Tyrangiel focused on an alleged personal vendetta between Eminem and me, but doing so obscures the real issues. It is The Source's journalistic responsibility to bring Eminem's multiple racist rants to light and publish excerpts of the song tracks. Our hope is not necessarily to topple a talented musician; it is to make Eminem accountable for his words and engage him and his fans in a real dialogue about racism. The Source wants to reveal the racial bias that is leading hip-hop music down the same path as rock 'n' roll, which was created by African Americans but stripped from them by a racist music industry. The treatment in Tyrangiel's article of the issue of racism reinforces our cynical view of mainstream media: blacks are held accountable for everything they've done and oftentimes for what they haven't, while whites are too often given a free pass.
DAVID MAYS, CEO
The Source
New York City

You've Gotta Have Friends
Columnist Charles Krauthammer's contemptuous dismissal of America's need for allies in today's dangerous world was breathtaking in its neocon unilateralism and arrogance [Jan. 12]. As he scorned the need for traditional U.S. allies, Krauthammer also acknowledged that the "war on many fronts" is consuming American "blood and treasure" while China builds an economic and military superpower and Europe "knits itself into another continental colossus." Shouldn't the U.S. be using its influence and diplomacy to rebuild relations with these rising powers to influence their evolution in ways favorable to American interests? Haughtily ignoring our traditional allies is shortsighted, naive and dangerous.
JAMES FORD COOPER
Punta Gorda, Fla.

Krauthammer indulged in some macho breast thumping about the U.S. standing tall and alone. That would be great if we Americans were as consistently right as we think we are and if our leadership knew what it was doing. The sad fact is that Americans have always been ignorant about the outside world, and that costs us dearly every day. Moreover, the Bush team may be setting a new low in the quality of American leadership.
ERIC COLLIER
Silverthorne, Colo.

Re Krauthammer's views on going it alone: I would rather have friends willing to tell me I am about to make a grave mistake than rubber-stamp yes-men.
TOM FAULKNER
San Diego