Letters

Beslan: Slaughter of the Innocents
If the tragedy of the school siege in Beslan, Russia [Sept. 13], does not open everybody’s eyes, fill everyone’s heart with anguish and stir people’s souls all over the world, then we will never be able to solve any of our global problems. We should be united in our feelings of absolute horror at the senseless killing of children, no matter what our culture, religion or nationality. It should be our utmost priority to prevent such tragedies from becoming a common occurrence. We must rely on the wisdom and moderation of our leaders to create a better world for all. We have to make sure children the world over keep dreaming, hoping and making plans for their future and do not grow into embittered adults, following the example of those who took their childhood away.
Elise Furlan
Ithaca, New York, U.S.

Your report on Beslan was headlined “Slaughter of the Innocents.” Any indiscriminate mass murder is a slaughter of innocents. The guilty people are those who instigated the killings. In this case, Russian President Vladimir Putin is guilty for actions that have made desperate the Chechens and others who seek independence from Russia. As long as
violence is seen as the only way to negotiate — in Russia, the Middle East or anywhere else — more innocents will die.
François Borel-Hänni
Lille, France

No political or religious cause can ever justify deliberate harm to children. Yet humanity has the uncanny ability to lower itself to unfathomable depths of evil. After the events in Beslan, no doubt even God is in despair of what has become of us.
Barrett Kesterlian
London

People holding extreme views need to understand that terrorism is a shortsighted approach that triggers an unending chain of actions and reactions. Attackers who take innocent people hostage must learn that violence against civilians only undermines their credibility, even when world opinion supports their cause. International organizations such as the U.N. and the European Union have condemned Russia, India and Israel for their actions. Tragedies like the Beslan killings should bring all nations together to root out terrorism. No country should be allowed to harbor terrorists.
M. Farooq Shah
Srinagar, Kashmir

The Beslan tragedy is Russia’s 9/11.
Oddbjorn Aardalen
Skjervedal, Norway

The entire world is horrified by the killing of civilians by terrorists. But mere condemnation is not enough to eradicate terrorism. There are three steps to end it: using massive and decisive force against radical organizations and their networks, isolating terrorist groups from civil society, and initiating dialogue with groups to rehabilitate their members socially and economically. Those strategies must be prolonged and consistent to ensure a safer world.
Amit Pradhan
Baroda, India

Taste Infraction?
Serena Williams’ selection of tennis apparel is completely appalling and a disgrace to the sport [Sept. 13]. Most of what she wears looks as though she has rummaged through the clothing rack at a prostitute’s yard sale. I didn’t even allow my 6-year-old daughter to watch women’s tennis at the U.S. Open because of this. What’s next — men wearing spandex and tube tops? I respect Williams’ abilities as a tennis player. She is phenomenal. But does her excellence as a player give her a free pass to desecrate the sport with her tacky outfits? Whatever happened to classic tennis whites? Tennis courts are for playing the game, not for mounting a fashion show.
Lisa Walters
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, U.S.

Conventional Warfare
In “Tearing Kerry Down” [Sept. 13] columnist Joe Klein called Senator Zell Miller’s speech at the Republican Convention the “ugliest” he had ever witnessed at a convention. I felt the same way, and I have been watching political conventions since 1964, when I was a Barry Goldwater supporter. If I had been a Republican delegate this year, I would have walked out on Miller’s tirade. That would also have spared me Dick Cheney’s speech employing the politics of fear. To slot Miller with his venomous attack in the national spotlight as the keynote speaker says a lot about George W. Bush’s campaign strategy.
Lowell Klessig
Amherst Junction, Wisconsin, U.S.

I support Kerry but have trouble with those who are advising him. Karl Rove, Bush’s strategist, is a master political tactician, and the Democrats are kidding themselves if they think the Republican campaign team will play fair. Kerry’s advisers must remember the attacks on John McCain in 2000 and Max Cleland in 2002, and they should not forget what Lee Atwater did to Michael Dukakis in the 1988 presidential campaign. Kerry needs to fight fire with fire.
Jim Karavite
Royal Oak, Michigan, U.S.

Klein criticized the Republicans for engaging in attack politics. But what about the Democrats’ efforts to dig up President Bush’s National Guard service record in order to unearth something sinister? Why doesn’t John Kerry focus on his record and talk about what he would bring to the American people if elected? Instead, he seems to be running on his Vietnam military service. Who truly cares what either of these men did 30 years ago? We should judge them on their actions, positions and records over the past few years. Some people change their lives, views and general conduct (i.e., they mature), whereas others always plug along in the same fashion.
Ralph Ellis
Pinehurst, North Carolina, U.S.

Klein stated that the Republicans’ strategy is to demolish Kerry, but all they are doing is attacking his policies, which are fair game during an election. Bush’s rise in the polls following the convention showed that the criticisms of Kerry’s policies hit their mark. Kerry, by contrast, responded to his falling poll numbers with brutal personal attacks on the President and Vice President, noting their lack of service in Vietnam. It is Kerry who is trying to demolish Bush over personal matters, not vice versa. Most Americans respect Kerry’s military service and do not doubt his personal courage and toughness. It’s a pity Kerry’s policies do not reflect his personal attributes.
Dave Werman
St. Charles, Illinois, U.S.

A Strategic Divorce
On August 28 and 29, the town of Saint-Fargeau Ponthierry in Seine-et-Marne, France, commemorated the 60th Anniversary of its Liberation by General Patton’s Third Army, and celebrated the historical French-American friendship. Current difference of analysis in foreign policies and strategic issues [Aug. 30] cannot overlook the popular and genuine demonstration of friendship expressed on both sides by American veterans and all generations present at this occasion.
Christophe Audicq
Event Coordinator
Saint-Fargeau Ponthierry, France

Performance Review
In TIME’s interview with president Bush [Sept. 6], you asked him what was the most important thing he had learned as President during the past four years. Bush responded, “I’ve learned I really enjoy the job.” That is surprising, because it is a very hard job, and he has been doing things that are not pleasant — waging war, for instance. It’s curious if Bush is actually saying he enjoys making war. Certainly John Kerry would not relish it. Maybe that’s because Kerry has been in combat, while Bush makes war only from the remove of the presidency. To make people forget that he didn’t go to war himself, Bush states that his job is to be a “decision maker,” as if to say that that’s all the country needs in its President. If Bush wins, it will prove once again that politics is not moral.
Pascal Gendreau
Paris

Brink of Destruction
After reading Simon Robinson’s World Watch item “Slow Going in Darfur” [Sept. 6], I was very discouraged that the international community continues to balk on responding to the crisis in Sudan. One would think that after the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, we would have learned something. The world must act before yet another group of people is wiped out.
William B. James III
Galati, Romania