Nuclear Stakes

To the Editors:

Your article on nuclear missiles [Jan. 31] brought out both the idealistic and the realistic positions on the issue. However, the Europeans would be wise to be realistic and realize that American defense forces have helped them maintain a free, prosperous life throughout the post-World War II period. If the West cannot remain united on the question of security, Western Europe risks becoming Finlandized.

Peter George Click

Washington, D.C.

Part of the game of poker is knowing when to quit. What we have now is hyped-up publicity aimed at winning over the Europeans. Our Government should stop playing and start dealing with the reality of a nuclear nightmare.

Philip Naff

Fort Sheridan, Ill.

If the people of Western Europe compel the U.S. to play nuclear poker with a stacked deck, we ought to toss in our hand and walk out, taking our rockets, our aircraft, our tanks and our military personnel with us.

Joseph K. Van Denburg

Boiling Springs, Pa.

The U.S. will never again achieve nuclear superiority. But if it plays its cards right, our Government can accomplish some semblance of nuclear equality in Europe. To gain this position, the State Department will have to campaign more actively for the support of our European allies, and West German Chancellor Kohl will have to persuade his country to accept the basing of the Pershing. The other European countries would then follow his lead.

Dennis W. Raraigh

Wexford, Pa.

Your report on arms control has made clear to me the futility of President Reagan's defense spending. He insists on expending billions on items like the Pershing II missile, when those dollars could be put to better use reviving the nation's economy. One day the President may find himself spending billions in defense of a country that is but a feeble shadow of the superpower it once was.

Diana Mejia

East Peoria, Ill.

President Reagan is not serious about arms control. There is only one zero option, the total elimination of all nuclear weapons in every nation.

Ronald N. Chastain

Chula Vista, Calif.

Warfare in the nuclear age is a no-win proposition. Since I cannot say "Deal me out," I am going to join those who are working to freeze, and eventually reduce, nuclear warheads.

Walt Matell

Ketchikan, Alaska

Everyone who voted for the nuclear freeze in November should take a close look at Yuri Andropov's words: "Let no one expect unilateral disarmament from us. We are not naive people." The goals of the Soviet Union are the same as they have always been. The only thing that has changed is how it is playing the game.

Frederick James Lane

Bel Air, Md.

None of the stories I have read about arms control affected me as did yours with its picture of the Kremlin fac,ade. The Soviet hammer and sickle are a familiar sight, but I have never seen the emblem superimposed on the globe. That symbol evoked all the long-forgotten cold war fanaticism about Soviet world domination.

Robert A. Dodd

Arlington, Va.

When are we going to quit playing games and get down to settling the arms race? Regardless of what either side thinks, no one will come out the winner. This is not poker, it is a matter of survival.

Janell Hesch-Smith

Menomonie, Wis.

Muzzling Medvedev

After reading about the Soviet Union's fear of our nuclear missiles, I turned to the article on the harassment of Soviet Historian Roy Medvedev [Jan. 31]. In the photograph of Medvedev, I saw an even greater Soviet fear: a brave, thoughtful man armed only with a pencil.

Jimmy Pritchard

Annandale, Va.

Murder in Memphis

Your story about the shootout in Memphis [Jan. 31] raises serious questions about our society's attitudes toward criminals. Maxine Smith, executive secretary of the Memphis N.A.A.C.P., and Walter Bailey, Shelby County commissioner, wrongly portray the police as the criminals. Officer Robert Hester, who was tortured and murdered, was the victim. His fellow officers, who were forced to stand by and listen to Hester's screams and pleas for mercy, were also victims. Lindberg Sanders and his cult followers are the criminals.

David E. Perry

Ashland, Va.

I am amazed at the criticism of how the police handled the affair. We forget too easily that a police officer was taken hostage and murdered.

Charles J. Stahl IV

Johnson City, Tenn.

When seven people lure and capture a policeman and then torture him to death, they are entering into war with the law. The skin color of the policeman or the antagonists should not be an issue.

Vernon Brabham Jr.

Marietta, Ga.

Nakasone Visit

One must applaud the restraint of Japanese Prime Minister Nakasone [Jan. 24] in not saying, "If Americans made cars, TVs and calculators more attractive to the consumer than ours, the U.S. would not have a trade problem."

John G. Smith

Ely, Nev.

Falklands Future

Britain may not continue its occupation of the Falklands [Jan. 31] for long. Economics, geography and military logistics make it difficult to defend the islands. The next time around, the Argentine military will avoid its past mistakes. There will be no diplomatic solution to this problem. England does well to enjoy its victory while it lasts.

F. Duran Martinez

Kennewick, Wash.

Prime Minister Thatcher's visit to the Falkland Islands can be considered an act of provocation only by a country that also deals in provocation and colonialist adventurism. Her action is loyal and constant in a world of inconstant and shifting alliances born of economic expedience.

Julia Carragan

Troy, N. Y.

Tribal Jealousy

Your article "The Plague of Tribal Enmity" [Jan. 17] focused mainly on the feud between Zimbabwe's Shona and Ndebele tribes, ignoring the other oppressed groups. As a member of a Zimbabwe minority tribe, I deplore the lack of dialogue between the people of my nation. Their refusal to accept religious, linguistic or racial diversity in others is a clear signal of a fatal future.

Freedom Nkomo

Providence

Sizing Up Scientology

Scientology's aim is to increase a person's ability to deal with life's problems [Jan. 31]. The religion uses modern technology to achieve goals that other groups try to reach through prayer. All great religions have had upheaval and dissent within their organizations. I am not active in the Church of Scientology, but I can trace the success and happiness of my life to the teachings of L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology.

Peter Brock

Rancho California, Calif.

It is incredible that in this age, people can believe, as the Scientologists do, that emotional and physical ailments can be cured with two tin cans wired to a galvanometer. Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard was a good science-fiction writer. He should have remained in that field. His worldwide followers should turn in their tin cans for recycling.

Hugo Pastore Jr.

Venice, Calif.

After 74 trillion years in existence, Hubbard surely deserves a two-year rest.

Nina M. Nelson

Hobart, Ind.

Original McPhee

Your pleasant review of John McPhee's book In Suspect Terrain [Jan. 31] states: "No other journalist avoids the obvious with as much success as John McPhee. To hold readers through books about oranges, the New Jersey Pine Barrens or birchbark canoes is a tribute to his eye for narrative grain and hand for prose dovetails. The sanding and finishing are done by editors at The New Yorker, where McPhee's books first appear." In actuality, John McPhee's prose is written, sanded and polished by John McPhee.

William Shawn, Editor in Chief

The New Yorker

New York City

Risky Contraceptive

After the birth of my second child, I was given an injection of Depo-Provera [Jan. 24]. I immediately began to bleed and to experience depression and insomnia. The side effects did not abate for a year. More research is needed before this drug is used as a contraceptive in this or any other country.

Paula Jeanne Raynar

Longview, Texas

So Upjohn Research Manager Gordon Duncan believes that the side effects of Depo-Provera are not serious enough to "preclude its use as a contraceptive." Would he feel the same way if it were a male contraceptive that caused weight gain and a loss of sex drive, as well as the male equivalent of "complete cessation of menstrual bleeding"?

Jan Higbee

Topeka, Kans.

My mother took the synthetic hormone diethylstilbestrol during her pregnancy. As a DES daughter, I hope that FDA Commissioner Arthur Hayes will not approve the use of Depo-Provera until long-term studies of its safety have" been made. We should not give rise, as we did with DES, to another generation of "clinical studies," but should prudently await definitive studies on Depo-Provera's safety.

Debra Shetka Friedman

Des Moines

Saving the Everglades

Floridians should listen to Marjory Stoneman Douglas about the preservation of the Everglades [Jan 31]. The loss of that fragile and unique land not only endangers the wild creatures dependent upon it, but will eventually destroy the fresh-water supply of southern Florida. Fresh water flowing through the shallow Everglades prevents seawater from entering the system. As the delicate balance is disrupted, the water will become more saline and, finally, unusable.

Fran Podulka

Glenview, Ill.

People should be thankful for Marjory Douglas and others who speak with the voice of reason about the world in which we live. Perhaps some day everyone will realize that no matter how advanced our technology is, we should not try to rearrange other life forms to suit ourselves. In most cases, nature needs but one thing from us: to be left alone.

Michael Glenn Backus

Harrisville, N. Y.

Pot on the Bus

The story of School Bus Driver Gloria Arsenault and the pot-smoking students whose bus service was suspended is not something to laugh about [Jan. 17]. The parents who provided the offending children with rides showed a lack of respect for both the school system and the town police. These parents have no one to blame but themselves for the decline of our public schools.

Susan L. Smith

Salt Lake City This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so viewer discretion is required.