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Although punishment for those who bombed the U.S. embassies in Africa was definitely overdue [WORLD, Aug. 24], the timing of the retaliation seems to have been motivated by the desire of the President to buttress his sagging image after public humiliation. Is it any wonder that the missile attacks on Sudan and Afghanistan by the American forces have been named "Operation Monica Lewinsky" by many people around the globe? VIDYADHAR S. RANADE Zurich
There can be only one response to atrocities committed by terrorists: more and bigger missile strikes. There are no "innocent" civilians in nations that harbor these criminals. Now that we know who the enemy is, the response time should be much shorter--24 hours or less. This is not a game of tit for tat. This is a real war. Only a firm resolve will put these inhuman criminals back in their cage. EDWIN M. ALLEN Ridgecrest, Calif.
WHEN KIDS MURDER
In your story on youngsters who kill their playmates [CRIME, Aug. 24], you noted that a nine-year-old boy went back to playing a Nintendo game after shooting a seven-year-old girl. I'm no child psychiatrist, but I'd reckon that the nonstop remote-control cartoon killing that occurs in many video games begins to desensitize even the most normal kids after a while. Throwing rocks at a girl on a bicycle, which occurred in the Chicago case of the two boys accused of killing an 11-year-old, can quickly seem sport akin to stoning an ugly cartoon character. Baby boomers grew up with plenty of violence, as in Road Runner and Popeye cartoons. But there we were just observing it, not causing it. Yeah, yeah, I know: "Games don't kill people; children do." WILLIAM A. KANE III Alexandria, Va.
I have a son who has not yet reached the age of two, yet I am thoroughly convinced that at this early age he definitely knows right from wrong. Murders that have been committed by children are an outrage. I do not feel sorry for young children who may not know exactly what is going on in the courtroom. I feel sorry for parents who are robbed of their children and the happiness of watching them grow up. Our society is concerned with the rights of the wrongdoer rather than those of the innocent victim. We should make examples of the killers, children or not. The laws should be strict. Murder is murder no matter what the age of the perpetrator. HEATHER A. GUZIK North Versailles, Pa.
HOPE UNDER SIEGE
With the bombing in Omagh, Northern Ireland [MILESTONES, Aug. 24], the situation has gone past being "difficulties" between Catholics and Protestants. It is now firmly in the hands of mental deficients whose only purpose is murder. LEA WATSON Chiba, Japan
Northern Ireland has paid dearly for its "peace" accord with terrorism. The Omagh bomb brings to mind the many explosions in Jerusalem since the false Oslo "peace" accords. The parallels between Northern Ireland and Israel are staggering: ambitious politicians willing to sell out their own people for a Nobel Prize and the release of convicted terrorists. Now Yasser Arafat and Gerry Adams are treated as statesmen and invited to the White House! What goes around comes around. The bombs in Omagh and at American embassies in Africa are no different from the bombs in Israel. The source is the same: evil, lawless, state-sponsored terrorism. ROSS MONTGOMERY Brighton, England
WHITHER THE MOUNTAIN LION?