The Scramble For The Bomb

Kim Jong Il’s nuclear blast in North Korea signaled an unsettling new era in the nuclear-arms race. The rules of the cold war have been replaced with a crude survival-of-the-fittest code. Many readers blamed the U.S. for misplaced attention on Iraq, allowing the North Korean threat to increase

“When outlaws get the bomb” [Oct. 23], on the aftermath of North Korea’s nuclear-weapons test, overlooked the significance of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT), the only binding, multilateral commitment to the goal of disarmament by nuclear-weapons states. Signatories are obligated to negotiate and achieve the elimination of nuclear arms. To have any hope of stopping proliferation and creating security, the world’s powers have to work toward disarmament.
Fredrik S. Heffermehl
Oslo

Like all nuclear-weapons programs, North Korea’s should be a concern for everyone. The notion of who is an outlaw and who occupies the moral high ground on enforcing nuclear nonproliferation isn’t as clear to me as your article makes out. I suspect that the U.S.’s current work on tactical nuclear weapons and our unwillingness to reduce our inventory of warheads are in violation of the npt — making the U.S. an outlaw. If we’re including violent tendencies in an analysis of risk, the U.S. is the only nuclear power to have used those weapons on human beings. I would say our role in leading nonproliferation enforcement efforts is somewhat hypocritical. We need to set a better example.
Timothy C. Hohn
Lake Forest Park, Washington, U.S.

Negotiation is by far the best way to defuse North Korea’s nuclear crisis. But if severe international sanctions are necessary, we shouldn’t expect cooperation from China because its national security would be threatened by a sudden collapse of North Korea. There would be a huge influx of Korean refugees, and the power vacuum might be filled with military forces headed by the U.S. While the world condemns Pyongyang for its irresponsible nuclear test, we should perhaps also ponder its real fear of extermination by a superpower and its need for self-protection. Why does Washington still obstinately and arrogantly refuse to sit down with Pyongyang for direct bilateral talks, respect its sovereignty and give it the chance to open up and reform?
Stephen Kwok Wai Chan
Hong Kong

In the run-up to the Iraq war, I recall National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice stating that, in lieu of solid proof that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction, “we don’t want the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud.” I also recall getting into heated debates and insisting that North Korea was the actual case of a dictator working toward acquiring wmd. While the Bush Administration pursued a war in Iraq, the smoking gun turned into a mushroom cloud in Pyongyang. The Bush Administration has failed miserably in addressing the North Korean threat, and its policies (or lack thereof) have made us all less safe.
Nana Kwamie
Toronto

North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il has clearly shown with the recent nuclear test that bilateral negotiations are meaningless to him. He has made laughingstocks of Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, whose administrations engaged in direct talks with North Korea about nuclear proliferation. Kim has also made fools of South Korean Presidents Kim Dae Jung and Roh Moo Hyun. Who else in the world is going to dream of engaging in bilateral talks with Kim Jong Il again, unless in delusion?
Ke Park
Anaheim, California, U.S.

Is The U.N. Obsolete?
In his essay disparaging the U.N., Charles Krauthammer argued that violence and greed are “the natural way of nations” [Oct. 23]. That is the lazy man’s excuse for resisting change and progress. As a means to create security and stability, war has failed over the millenniums. Our experiment in international collaboration, nonviolent conflict resolution and mutually beneficial partnerships — still in its infancy — will continue to suffer missteps and setbacks, not the least of which include the present U.S. Administration’s uninformed and shortsighted policies. My hope for the future lies in the goals, purposes and accomplishments of the U.N.
Peg Maher
Cedar Rapids, Iowa, U.S.

I applaud Krauthammer’s realistic take on the North Korean issue — that a “dynamic, capitalist, reunited Korea” would be stiff competition for a China that aspires to impose its will on East Asia, hence Beijing keeps its unruly neighbor alive and refuses to support tough U.N. sanctions against North Korea. Let’s hope for the sake of the Korean people that China does not succeed in promoting its self-interests and that there may be a reunited Korea before our lives are over.
Juwon Yang
Los Angeles

Krauthammer rightly commented that the U.N. has failed to achieve many of the goals for which it was established. Taiwan is well aware of this painful reality, having endured exclusion from the supposedly universal world body because of Chinese pressure for more than three decades. But there is no civilized alternative to the principle of international cooperation in pursuit of the common good. The world’s only hope for the ethical, nonviolent resolution of conflict — whether in the Taiwan Strait, on the Korean peninsula or anywhere else — lies in the collective cooperation of U.S.-led democracies. Give up that hope, and we are lost indeed.
Ben Shao
Taipei Economic and Cultural Office
New York City

It is time for western countries to find alternatives to the U.N. not only because it is incapable of preventing wars, as Krauthammer pointed out, but also because it has become an ideological bureaucracy that regards all cultural values as equal. The U.N. has allowed Islamic member states to maintain Shari’a laws, which violate the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, an agreement designed to promote gender equality and freedom of expression. While Islamic fundamentalists intimidate the West by manufacturing outrage against novels, cartoons, lectures, essays and theater productions, the U.N. complies with Muslim prohibitions against speaking freely about Islam. The freedom to think and express oneself — and even mock authority figures — is the bedrock of Western values, and to defend this freedom, it appears necessary to disband the U.N. and develop other international and regional organizations.
Jiti Khanna
Vancouver

Cutting Our Losses
Leslie Gelb’s viewpoint “The Dominoes That Did Not Fall” [Oct. 23] argued that, after the U.S. defeat in Vietnam, “the dominoes did not fall.” Well, they didn’t fall as far as the U.S. was concerned. But maybe someone should ask the Cambodians about what happened after the U.S. pulled out of Vietnam. I think the families and friends of anyone who was killed under Pol Pot would have a different story.
Lauren Cook
Dallas
Gelb has got to be kidding. can the terrorists in Iraq be deterred by mutual assured destruction, as the Russians were? Can we defense-spend them into oblivion? If we cut and run in Iraq, it will be annexed by Iran, a larger share of the world’s oil will be used as a weapon against the U.S., a Shi’ite majority will have free rein to commit genocide against Sunnis and Kurds, and the Shi’ites will have more money to buy arms for Hizballah.
Jose Ramirez
Lindenhurst, New York, U.S.

The U.S. must aid Iraqis as they develop their fledgling government, ensuring that oil profits are shared among the country’s factions. With more security, a new infrastructure and a government that they can have a say in, Iraqis could have a more hopeful and satisfying life and a more stable region could be ensured. The U.S. should show that it isn’t interested in “owning” Iraq by eliminating most of its 14 bases there. That approach, however, would seem impossible under the current U.S. Administration. Fresh new faces and vision are needed for the world to see that we really want the best for the Iraqis.
Debbie Metke
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.

Accession Woes
I enjoyed reading “When Reform Doesn’t Pay the Bills” [Oct. 23], on the struggling economies of the countries that have recently been admitted to the European Union. Although I cannot comment meaningfully on the entire region, your article failed to identify two of the main causes of problems in Hungary. First is an absence of leadership among the political élite: opposition parties are criticizing the current government but have not offered a credible alternative. Second, Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany has not been open about his family’s wealth, yet he chooses to raise taxes on the population. Unless Hungary’s leaders come clean about their affairs and demonstrate a willingness to make the system work, not just for them but for the whole society, we cannot expect the people to believe in them.
Istvan Pataki
Budapest

Follow Your Nose
“Scents and sensibility” [Oct. 23] reported that more retailers are using odors to get consumers in the mood to spend. Oh, dear. I’m not much of a shopper, but now I may never shop again. First it was the muzak that drove me out of most stores, then the scented candles in gift shops. Whew! I turned and ran. Now, more scents in every store? I simply dislike artificial scents, but there are many people who are hypersensitive to smells and can be made ill by them. I guess there’s always mail order and online shopping.
Gail S. Ravitts
Rockford, Illinois, U.S.

Don’t Sneer at Our Heroes
Your interview with Clint Eastwood and your glowing review of his movie Flags of Our Fathers [Oct. 23] disparaged the idea of war heroism at a time when the U.S., in the hard years to come, is going to desperately need heroes and patriots. Although the movie is ostensibly about the World War II battle of Iwo Jima and our government’s propaganda campaign around the famous flag-raising photo, Eastwood obviously meant it as a comment on the Iraq war and the cynical machinations of the Bush Administration. I hold no brief for Bush and the Iraq war, but to attack them by sneering at the heroism and patriotism of Americans who served in an earlier, moral war is despicable.
Al Ramrus
Pacific Palisades, California, U.S.

Game Over?
I remember a few years ago, when President Bill Clinton was found guilty of “inappropriate behavior” and lying about it, we were told that character is not what matters, only how well a person does his or her job [Oct. 16]. I guess that’s only true if you’re a Democrat.
Veta Lasater
Independence, Missouri, U.S.

The Republicans impeached Clinton over a sex scandal. Now they are saying the Mark Foley fiasco is the result of a Democratic conspiracy. What a bunch of hypocrites.
Nancy Reeves
Kirkwood, Missouri, U.S.

The G.O.P. and the Green Stuff
I couldn’t help noticing that each of the $100 bills illustrating “The G.O.P.’s Secret Weapon” [Oct. 9] has the same serial number. What are you trying to tell us? That the Republican Party platform in November is counterfeit?
Bob Fashingbauer
Chicago

Stumbling Toward Democracy
As Andrew Marshall noted [Oct. 9], the day democracy in Southeast Asia may have the last laugh indeed “remains a long way off.” But the Thai coup, while not an event worth celebrating, should not have been a shock and is not a blow to democracy in the region. Rather, it simply shows how little progress democracy has made in putting down roots since the last coup. Efforts to establish democracy in Thailand have failed because they have been imposed from the top. Nothing has been done to educate the people at the grass roots, thus leaving a very shaky foundation. The development of democracy is a long and grueling process, and unless the public is educated, checks and balances can be undermined by the next leader who has the means to garner the most votes.
Paul Chaiyodsilp
Pak Kret, Thailand

Compromised Standards
Terrorists have no rights to habeas corpus or protections under the Geneva Conventions [Oct. 9]. They are not members of opposing armies; they are people who have no respect for human life. The courts need to stay out of the war on terrorism and let President Bush do the job he was elected to do. If the people of the U.S. want terrorism to thrive and terrorists to have the same rights as our soldiers, let them make that decision when they vote.
Lori B. Godines
El Paso, Texas, U.S.

Papal Fallibility
The pope said what needed to be said, period [Sept. 25]. Radical Muslims have insulted, abused and murdered many non-Muslims and otherwise made their lives uncertain and dangerous for decades. It is about time a world leader stood up and called a spade a spade.
Bill Evans
Bainbridge Island, Washington, U.S.