Letters

Terror in the Middle East

Millions of parents around the world know what to do when two of their children squabble over a toy--nobody gets it [WORLD, Oct. 23]. Just upgrade the city of Jerusalem to "too holy for anybody" and put a permanent military force around it. Clerics can get in with a pass, and everybody else can take pictures from a distance. If they can't live with that, clear everyone out and destroy the site. Better a holy memory than a killing ground that perpetuates death by its very presence. PHIL BRADY Philadelphia

While there can be no excuse for the killing of the Israeli reservists, there is similarly no excuse for the brutal murder of children and unarmed protesters by the Israelis. ZAKA SHAFIQ Toronto

Why are there so many pictures of Palestinian youths and men running from or being fired upon by Israeli soldiers? Why is it never mentioned that the soldiers are defending themselves from attacks by these mobs? The soldiers wouldn't fire their weapons unless their lives were in danger. If the rocks and Molotov cocktails stop flying at Israeli soldiers, they will stop shooting. CRAIG RINGEL Massapequa Park, N.Y.

You said Arafat is looking for an "enduring legacy," just as President Clinton is. I find it hard to believe the great leaders of the past were worried about such things. Winston Churchill was too involved in winning World War II to think about his legacy. If he had given it some thought, he probably would have made some bad choices favored by public opinion instead of doing what he thought needed to be done. History proved him right. Those concerned about a legacy will probably not leave a very good one. LARRY ERIKSON East Peoria, Ill.

I was raised to believe that peace is the only hope for the Middle East and that the 1979 Camp David treaty was the Arab world's chance for a better future. After watching the systematic demolition of Palestinian land, life and identity, however, I now firmly believe the Israelis will never be serious about making peace unless they are convinced they will pay a very high price otherwise. HANNA ABOULGHAR Cairo

While I can understand the frustration of Palestinians who for years have been led to believe they will regain the whole of the land taken by Israel, I cannot condone the double standards of their leaders. The death of children is always a tragedy, no matter what political stance is taken by their elders. The guilt for those deaths must be sought not only among the security forces but also among the scheming adults who willingly sent them out to the front lines. ZVI BAR Petach Tikva, Israel

While the death of the 12-year-old Palestinian boy caught in cross fire was terrible, it was nevertheless an accident, and Israelis across the political spectrum immediately expressed deep regret. By contrast, the beating and killing of the Israeli reservists in Ramallah was intentional. The Palestinians killed the Israelis with their bare hands and then showed them to a cheering mob. STEPHEN A. SILVER Concord, Calif.

We Jewish peaceniks have for years urged Israelis to treat Palestinians decently, stop building settlements, stop house demolitions, turn over the land and let the Palestinians govern themselves. We were deluded. Arafat and his followers never had any intention of cooperating for a peaceful coexistence. We thought Israel's offenses against Palestinians were the cause of Palestinian hatred. Now we realize those offenses are actually irrelevant, merely insults added to the fundamental injury: Israel's existence. Listen to the virulent anti-Israel rhetoric, and take it seriously. This is what has been drummed into the minds of the 12-year-olds who throw stones--by their parents, by their teachers, by their clerics, by their textbooks. MARGARET KALLMAN Palo Alto, Calif.

Your report only reinforced the stereotype of Palestinians as terrorists and looters. Having lived in Jerusalem before the most recent round of fighting began, I found that most Palestinians truly desire peace. For each person who cheered the death of the murdered Israeli soldiers, there are thousands of other Palestinians not involved in the violence. Thousands of noncombatant Palestinian citizens are without access to basic health care or food supplies because of Israeli actions. By using guns and tanks on rock-throwing Palestinians, the Israelis are only deepening the Palestinians' anger and further spreading the belief that peaceful solutions with Israel cannot be found. THOMAS A. ENRIGHT Lilburn, Ga.

Israeli troops, an arm of a huge, modern military power funded by U.S. tax dollars, are using incredible force against the Palestinians, an occupied civilian population, and causing massive casualties. It is shortsighted to think that peace can be accomplished in the Middle East under conditions like apartheid and occupation and without reference to international law and basic human rights. MAZIN QUMSIYEH Orange, Conn.

You seem to imply that Yasser Arafat is responsible for the recent clashes, even though you noted that the so-called peace process has won the Palestinian people "only the shards of an independent state and a life in which checkpoints and expanding Jewish settlements rubbed their noses daily in the continuing indignity of occupation." Look at the history of the region before making any hasty judgments; there is no good guy or bad guy in this conflict. Israelis and the rest of the world should learn a lesson from South Africa and the former Soviet Union--that repressive regimes don't last, and the power of the people always prevails. ABDUL WALI Stockholm

The victims of terror in the Middle East are legion, and they are not confined to Americans and Israelis. TIME has helped set back the cause of peace there as surely as did the events depicted in the photographs on your cover. Arafat is no more the leader of Palestinians worldwide than Prime Minister Ehud Barak is the world leader of the Jewish people. LINDA HERR Akron, Pa.

Why has Arafat been designated the person to negotiate a peace agreement with Israel? He cannot control the Arab mobs. Armed Palestinian Authority police cannot maintain order within the Arab enclaves under their nominal authority. There is no assurance that Arafat can make good on any peace agreement that might conceivably result from another summit. Certainly, there are right-wing Israeli fanatics. But the Israeli government speaks for its people. For whom does Arafat speak? SEYMOUR I. KAWALLER Hartford, Conn.

"I Hit My Target"

The first-person account "I Shot an Israeli" by a militant Hamas field leader describing his actions in a street fight shocked me to the core [WORLD, Oct. 23]. How could anyone be so vicious as to get pleasure out of shooting Israelis? I applaud you for printing this article. It tells us of the hatred preached by the Islamic movement Hamas, and how hard it is to find peace in the Middle East because of the hate groups and terrorist organizations that are widely accepted throughout the Arab world. It seems as if Israel will have to continue to fund its Defense Forces until this deadly trend of violence ceases forever. BRIAN ROSS East Brunswick, N.J.

Attack on the Cole

Who is responsible for the dastardly attack on the U.S.S. Cole [WORLD, Oct. 23]? You do not have to conduct months and years of expensive investigations. It is the Administration, which decided to make the U.S. Navy refuel its vessels at dangerous ports in order to promote friendly political relations with hostile countries. It is also the Department of Defense, which allowed valuable assets of this country to go into harm's way without proper security precautions. And it is the captain of the Cole, who did not order a top-level security zone around his vessel to see that all approaching craft were stopped and checked. Young men and women were killed as a result of these actions. The loyal Americans who died are all martyrs. TARIK N. AYASUN Marco Island, Fla.

The fact that a small boat was able to maneuver right up to the Cole suggests a mind-boggling lapse of security. Nothing Washington or the Pentagon can say changes that. In a port like Aden, which has been called a "sieve for terrorists," why weren't all boats approaching the Cole searched? Some people should lose their jobs for this lack of security. It cost 17 sailors their life. JOHN D. MARSHALL Honolulu

If Admiral Vernon Clark, the Navy's Chief of Operations, contends that two people on a little boat are "extraordinarily difficult" to stop, does this mean he would be easily stumped by the tactics of an enemy submarine, an underwater demolition team or, heaven forbid, another warship? What does the admiral have to say about using a military attache with a cell phone to establish communications from the Cole after the blast? How did we end up with a U.S. warship that could not transmit an SOS! This is where unbelievable runs into inexcusable, which is really scary, because who knows the extent of our Navy's unreadiness? BRADFORD J. KEENE Redondo Beach, Calif.

Open Hand or Iron Fist?

In his commentary "The Barak Paradox," Charles Krauthammer says the outbreak of violence in the Middle East is proof that the "dovish" approach advocated by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak's government is painfully misguided [ESSAY, Oct. 23]. But does Krauthammer truly believe that seven years of Israeli peace initiatives and negotiations with, and concessions to, the Palestinians should be enough time and effort to turn the tide on centuries-old religious and ethnic enmity? And even if he believes that, how can he suggest that Barak give up doing what is right in exchange for the military imposition of a peace that is no peace at all? In fact, as individuals we face our greatest opposition--even violence--when the actions we take and positions we confess are fundamentally the right thing. DON DEENA JOHNSON Anderson, Ind.

Many Jews and ex-Israelis are extremely hawkish while leading safe and comfortable lives in New York City, Paris and London. They urge us Israelis not to give up an inch, to show strength, to send our sons to war. If we win a swift and stunning victory, they will be enormously proud. But if not, well, it's no skin off their back. SHMUEL OFRI Tel Aviv

Krauthammer's comparison of Ehud Barak with Neville Chamberlain, implicitly equating Arafat and the Palestinians with Hitler and Nazi Germany, was ludicrous. Were British forces occupying Germany at the time of Chamberlain's negotiations? Was Hitler the leader of fighters armed primarily with rocks, bottles and handguns? The two situations are not parallel in the least. The Palestinians are frustrated with the ongoing occupation. They have been given only symbolic aspects of statehood. JEFFREY DAVIS Durham, N.C.

Not Dead Yet

You asked, "Is The New Economy Dead?" [BUSINESS, Oct. 23]. Hardly. It just took a while for the dictum of the old economy to assert itself: a business is supposed to provide a product or service for a profit. Technical savvy and a dotcom tag are no substitutes for a sound business plan. I work for an information-technology company that has never lost money and has fueled growth through its own earnings. You should look at enterprises like ours instead of snickering at those whose overinflated financial balloons have been pricked by reality. Imagine, a profitable dotcom! ALEX LEKAS Fayetteville, N.C.

Getting into College

I perceive a double standard in what college admissions officials are purportedly looking for, as described in your story on the admissions process at three top schools [EDUCATION, Oct. 23]. On the one hand, the process favors students with "overcome" factors [those who come from families with little education or money], but on the other, evaluators can interpret a teacher's comment of "hardworking and motivated" to mean "the student isn't too smart." As a public high school teacher, I admire a student who has "overcome" a less than genius-level IQ to excel through consistent, honest effort and determination. Those students have proved themselves capable of the self-discipline and drive needed to succeed in college. ELLEN JANIS Chino Hills, Calif.

As someone who was admitted to Cornell University's undergraduate program, I was disappointed to read the comments made by Cornell, Bowdoin and Rice officials in your article. Students who are "hardworking and motivated" are few and far between. These students have the ability to achieve so much, and such traits should be praised. But the Bowdoin admissions official thought that the description meant the student isn't too smart. And for Cornell's staff to interpret a teacher's comment that a student "cares more about what he learns than what grades he gets" to mean that the applicant might end up on academic probation implies that the college has only one definition of smart. What a shame for prestigious institutions that pride themselves on their diversity: they're looking for only one kind of student. I'm glad I went to Michigan. KAREN MASCIULLI Longmont, Colo.

The point of college is not just to get in; it's to learn and enrich yourself in an academic surrounding. The most intelligent, athletic and talented kid can enter Harvard and not benefit one bit if he only cares about the school's reputation and not about learning. College is becoming a label instead of an institution for learning; we need to change that. STEPHEN GUO Seal Beach, Calif.

As college adviser at Ipswich High School, I work with seniors and parents, helping them plan for college admission. Virtually all of them are anxious and stressed, and your article "Inside College Admissions" didn't help. Bowdoin admitted only 28% of its applicants in 1999, Cornell 31% and Rice 23%. These schools typify only the top 10% of all colleges in terms of selectivity. On average, the other 90% of all colleges admit about 80% of all who apply. You missed a good opportunity to feature a more balanced sampling, not to mention calm some frazzled applicant families, by failing to include other, more accessible colleges. Yes, college admission is stressful for many, but it does not have to be. Please don't add fuel to the fire. LYNN WELBOURN Wenham, Mass.

Killer Entertainment

Terry Teachout's review of the musical setting of Dead Man Walking [OPERA, Oct. 23] was critical of the work. So what if one doesn't go home humming a tune from an opera? That doesn't detract from its many other great qualities. Frankly, I don't remember much that is hummable from Salome or King Lear, and not much from Fidelio, all of which are great operas. To say that Jake Heggie's music "lacks dramatic grip and speed" makes me wonder if Teachout was listening to and viewing the same opera that the rest of us were. Dead Man Walking is a first-class dramatic smash with glorious music and words, a convincing cast and incredible sets. ROBERT GRANDERSON Modesto, Calif.

Whose Vote Counts?

Political pundits endlessly debate and lament the causes for low voter turnout in national elections. At the same time, we are bombarded with information like that in your graphic "What If It's an Electoral-Vote Tie?" [NATION, Oct. 23], which pointed out that most states, including my home state of Wyoming, are already either "solid for Gore" or "solid for Bush." While I will certainly cast my vote on Election Day, you make me wonder why. And you make it harder for me to convince my 19-year-old son that his vote matters. ROY WHALEY Casper, Wyo.

Constitutional Dilemma

In your piece on a possible Electoral College vote tie [NATION, Oct. 23], you noted it is possible to win the electoral vote while losing the popular vote and that "it happened in 1888, when Benjamin Harrison defeated Grover Cleveland," even though Cleveland got 90,000 more popular votes. In case anyone has forgotten, it also occurred in 1876, when Rutherford B. Hayes defeated Samuel Tilden despite Tilden's slight majority of popular votes. Ultimately, the choice of Hayes as President was made by a committee vote along strict party lines; nevertheless, Hayes' election stands as a second example of the antidemocratic potential of the Electoral College. CROSS G. MOORADIAN Detroit

The Electoral College system is an anachronism that should have been changed long ago. The worst part of it is the winner-take-all feature. If a candidate wins a state with a plurality of the popular vote, why should that candidate get all of that state's electoral votes? Some proportional distribution of the electoral votes should be made on the basis of the popular vote. I would like to see a tie; then we might change the Constitution regarding the Electoral College. C. RALPH VERNO West Chester, Pa.

For Goodness' Sake

Richard Schickel's review of the film Pay It Forward was waaaaay too cynical [CINEMA, Oct. 23]. We were a better nation when Frank Capra was making those feel-good movies like Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and It's a Wonderful Life. If Pay It Forward's director Mimi Leder and her cast can even come close to making us feel uplifted and inspire us to go out and practice random acts of kindness, then good for them. Our country could use a little "Capra-corn," even if it's a pale imitation. PAT PARRISH Los Angeles

Sucking Down the Java

Judging by his story on Starbucks' "new" vacuum coffee pot [TREND ALERT, Oct. 23], you need to send Joshua Quittner to basic-science class. The vacuum coffee pots (which can actually be purchased for a few dollars at secondhand stores) push the water to the top funnel because of pressure created by boiling water in the bottom vessel, not by a vacuum in the upper chamber. When the bottom vessel is allowed to cool, a vacuum forms and sucks the coffee back down. The only thing new about this technology is Starbucks' $169 price tag. BILL CONNELL Florence, Ore.