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Felix Sockwell

Letters

Talking About Fear,

Real and Imagined
 

October 31, 2007
The New York Times

To the Editor:

Re “Trash Talking World War III” (editorial, Oct. 29):

Reading your editorial was a disquieting experience for anyone who is a veteran of World War II because that war ended with hopes that America and the world would be at peace for an eternity. If we have learned one lesson, it is that relying on military aggression as was staged four years ago in Iraq was foolhardy.

To be talking about using military force to curtail Iran’s building of a nuclear weapon would be compounding the error sizably. If ever diplomacy was needed, now is the time, before President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney recklessly set the stage to ensnare us for yet another war before their terms are over. Cy Shain

San Francisco, Oct. 29, 2007

•

To the Editor:

You write that “the world should not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon.” How does The New York Times suggest that “the world” prevent it?

Diplomacy, you say, although years of diplomatic efforts by our European allies, with the full support of the United States, have accomplished nothing. Sanctions, you write, wishing away the fact that Russian and Chinese cooperation will be unattainable with the suggestion that Condoleezza Rice give those countries a good talking to.

Our best chance of avoiding the necessity of military action is to convince the Iranian regime that we are prepared to take it, with the hope that this, together with such diplomatic and economic pressures as we are able to muster, will persuade more cautious regime elements to change course.

The statements of President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney that you deride as “trash talk” — and that are in fact well within traditional diplomatic bounds — are therefore a necessary part of any realistic strategy to avoid war.

Howard F. Jaeckel

New York, Oct. 30, 2007

•

To the Editor:

“Trash Talking World War III” lists cogent reasons why it is not in the world’s or the United States’ interests to bomb Iran, including “the disastrous diplomatic and economic costs.”

You point out that a bombing campaign is unlikely to set back Iran’s efforts for more than a few years, nor is such an attack likely to cause Iranians to rise up against their current government.

What you do not mention, however, are the huge humanitarian costs as well. There are thousands of Iranians — men, women, children, grandchildren, grandparents, doctors, lawyers, teachers and so on — living near the sites where we would use our bombing power. Are we again willing, as we were in Iraq, to disrupt a population, cause a new refugee crisis, watch bodies collected from homes and streets, create a civil war and destroy an ancient civilization?

These are the questions that we must ask the Bush administration, questions that go beyond expediency and economic costs to us. We have done enough damage and destroyed and disrupted enough lives in Iraq. We should not add Iran to our list of horrors.

Ann C. Rounds

San Mateo, Calif., Oct. 29, 2007

•

To the Editor:

Re “Fearing Fear Itself,” by Paul Krugman (column, Oct. 29), and “Trash Talking World War III” (editorial, Oct. 29):

The points of view in these articles do not recognize the reality of the threat. Consider the bombings that have shaken London, Spain, Bali, Pakistan and Israel since 2001. They are all related through the Islamic orientation of the perpetrators. This is not mere coincidence; rather the Muslim identity of the murderers represents the very impetus for the attacks.

This religious clarion call is certainly an ideology, and to call it Islamofascism simply connotes that it endangers the world as much as Hitler’s Nazism. Iran poses a particular danger since it openly seeks hegemony, at any cost, in the Middle East. Its pursuit of nuclear weapons portends a cataclysm that will affect the entire world.

The international community should prevent Iran from obtaining such weapons by every means possible, including a military campaign.

Sheryl Gura Rosenberg

New York, Oct. 29, 2007

•

To the Editor:

Paul Krugman’s column is on target. The hate-mongering and fear-peddling campaign by leading Republican candidates for president, who continue to use the war on terror as one against “Islamofascism,” a fictitious ideology as Mr. Krugman points out, is not only irresponsible but also dangerous.

This shameless strategy of attaching “fascism” to Islam to win votes by exploiting our fears and anxieties is offensive to more than a billion peaceful God-fearing Muslims. The fanning of anti-Muslim sentiment inherent in the demagogy that passes for political discourse is likely to add to the bigotry of some who may feel compelled to act on it.

This is not an issue for American Muslims only, but it affects all of us and we need to speak out if we are to maintain this “best hope for mankind,” the American experiment in democracy, tolerance and diversity.

Mohammed A. Nurhussein

Brooklyn, Oct. 29, 2007

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To the Editor:

Paul Krugman’s column “Fearing Fear Itself” is a lightning bolt of truth and insight in a political dialogue gone awry. The use of language by the right is very calculated and in point of fact very clever. It frames issues by the labels it chooses. Thus, an escalation of troops became the “surge.” Surge has connotations of strength and vigor; escalation brings back the bad memories of Vietnam.

The same technique is being used before a confrontation with Iran. “Islamofascism” taps into the tapestry of themes that have been woven into our consciousness concerning our participation in World War II. Hitler was a fascist; look what we had to do to him. Just by using the term “Islamofascism” we are playing into the hands of those seeking a violent confrontation with Iran and the Muslim world. Mark E. Ferris

St. Louis, Oct. 29, 2007

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To the Editor:

Paul Krugman says that he fears “unreasoning fear” more than anything Al Qaeda or Iran might do to the United States. So a nuclear bomb smuggled into an American city by Al Qaeda or another sympathetic group doesn’t frighten him? It scares me to death.

Casey Brennan

Pittsburgh, Oct. 29, 2007

Talking About Fear, Real and Imagined,
NYT,
31.10.2009,
https://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/31/
opinion/l31fear.html

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