Letters

The Hunt for a Killer

There are too many guns in the U.S. [CRIME, Oct. 21]. People should think about a society like Japan's, in which the possession of handguns by ordinary people is strictly prohibited. It's time for Americans to learn how to eliminate firearms from their society. KATZ TOMONO Tokyo

Everyone should understand that while forensic science is often vital to criminal investigations, it is not a cure-all. Investigative imagination, dogged police work and public vigilance are what solve crimes, not unreasonable supersleuth expectations or saturation coverage by the media. I hope the Beltway shootings won't give al-Qaeda terrorists any ideas or cause copycat killers to come out from under their rocks. DANIEL B. JEFFS Apple Valley, Calif.

Should there be a ballistics registry for firearms to help catch sniper killers? Critics say the pattern the gun barrel leaves on a bullet can be changed. Frequent firings will wear the groove pattern, but many guns are not fired all that much. Perhaps more important, even though the pattern may change, certain other guns could still be ruled out as possible sources of a bullet. Do government agencies require that your car or truck be registered? Of course they do. Why not your gun too? TOM TROTTIER Ottawa

The expense of collecting ballistics samples from every firearm and the bureaucracy required to maintain a national repository of owner information cannot be justified. The system would be useless in tracing the current owner of a stolen gun, and the percentage of shooting cases solved by such a system would be extremely small. Law-abiding gun owners and taxpayers in general would be far more adversely affected than the criminals by such a procedure. RAY EVANS Perry, Fla.

The Washington Beltway sniper shootings are a unique kind of terrorism. If repeated in other places around the U.S., such shootings could paralyze the entire populace and destroy our economy just as effectively as would massive assaults. Ten snipers scattered around the 50 states could be just as terrible as the 19 suicide hijackers were. SUZANNE MARKOV Rochester, N.Y.

If we Americans cannot address the issue of controlling assault weapons ourselves, perhaps the U.N. should adopt a resolution to send weapons inspectors to the U.S. and demand regime changes in the N.R.A. and the states where its money has helped elect politicians. LEONARD STASTNY Memphis, Tenn.

Whatever the U.S. is doing concerning gun regulation isn't working. This problem is getting out of control. People shouldn't have to live in fear. What kind of free nation is this? All Americans have to start asking themselves these questions: Do I really need a gun in my house? Is it worth risking the safety of any other person? Only well-trained law-enforcement officials with legitimate reasons should carry guns. VITH HOMSOMBATH Boston

Medical Miracle?

You reported that an Indian woman, Monica Besra, believes her abdominal tumor was healed by a miracle performed posthumously by Mother Teresa [SEQUEL, Oct. 21]. You noted that her husband believes that it was medicine, not a miracle, that cured her. Even if the medal bearing an image of Mother Teresa wasn't responsible for a miracle, couldn't Besra's faith in the nun have been a catalyst helping the medication that vanquished the tumor? It could be that one's faith is just as powerful a remedy as anything doctors prescribe. And no matter what the Roman Catholic Church decides about beatification, Mother Teresa was a saint. THOMAS L. STEVENS Englewood, Fla.

When Harry Dissed Colin

Although singer Harry Belafonte once profitably recorded The Banana Boat Song for the entertainment of a largely white audience, he recently raised the cliched but still inflammatory specter of the house Negro to criticize the actions of Secretary of State Colin Powell [PEOPLE, Oct. 21]. Your reporting stated blandly that Powell's dignified response of calling the slave reference "unfortunate" made Belafonte's comment seem extreme, as if it weren't extreme in its own right. For my money, what Belafonte said was racist, ridiculous, cruel and downright stupid. ANDREW E. DANIELS Hickory, N.C.

Battle Plans

Your report on the weapons that the U.S. could use in a war with Iraq [WORLD, Oct. 21] noted that Iraq's best tactic would be to deploy weapons of mass destruction. While Saddam Hussein used chemical weapons against Iran, today his troops would have trouble getting close enough to deliver them. So what would be a possible Iraqi gambit? If the U.S. began military operations to soften up Iraq, Saddam would quickly ask the U.N. to send in weapons inspectors. He would then show the inspection team he doesn't have any weapons of mass destruction. There would be an international outcry to lift the sanctions and force the U.S. to pay reparations for any damage done. The U.S. needs the inspectors to go in before we attack. JAMES HARRIS Atlanta

Without nuclear capability, the only response that a nation like Iraq would have to the high-tech war that you described would be terrorism. Going to war with Iraq would endanger not the U.S. military but our civilian population. PAUL WANKOWICZ Winchester, Mass.

The U.S. has often underestimated the strength of its enemies. Iraq wouldn't line up its forces in an open field. Your chart on the strength of the Iraqi forces relative to those of the U.S. stated that the Iraqi navy poses no threat to U.S. ships. But what kind of navy did it take to kill 17 U.S. sailors and severely damage their ship near Yemen? The likelihood that the Iraqi conflict would take the direction that is anticipated by U.S. military strategists is remote. C. TODD VERGIELS Toledo, Ohio

President Bush should be applauded for taking a courageous stand against Saddam's regime and its reckless pursuit of weapons of mass destruction. The riskiest option for dealing with Iraq is to do nothing. Inaction would only give Saddam time to complete his malicious pursuit of nuclear weapons and would embolden tyrants and terrorists everywhere. Acting now to disarm Saddam, using military force if necessary, is the only way we will keep America safe. JAMIE M. WHITE Eldorado, Ill.

The people of the U.S. have a conscience. We are willing to fight but reluctant to kill indiscriminately, to inflict suffering upon children and their families. We recognize that President Bush has never gone without food, shelter, medicine or clean drinking water. Will he walk among the stricken children of Iraq to feel their pain? The Iraqis too have a basic right to life and a right to defend themselves. I challenge the President to act with wisdom, not belligerence, to act with fairness and to resist the urge to go to war with Iraq. STEVE MOSKOWITZ Boston

If the U.S. thinks its military and economic supremacy is unsurpassable, it is deluding itself; if the U.S. considers itself the only and final authority in branding any country or any group as terrorist, it is wrong. It would be just and prudent for the U.S. to act in concert with others besides Britain and respect world opinion when it comes to Iraq, Israel or any other global issue. MESHKAT AHMED CHOWDHURY Dhaka

You cannot fight terrorism with terrorism. If the U.S. is so concerned about Iraqi citizens' welfare, it should stop its oppression of Iraqis through the trade embargo. ANDREW LEPPARD Adelaide, Australia

President and Peacemaker

The U.S. should make much more of the distinction bestowed upon Jimmy Carter by the Nobel Committee [PEOPLE, Oct. 21]. Not everyone agrees that he was a poor President. For many of us, he remains a man of profound integrity and intelligence. He didn't preach about compassion, but he was compassionate. He never pretended to have style, a quality attributed to Ronald Reagan, but the superlative quality of Carter's mind reminds us of what true style is. J. PATRICE MARANDEL Los Angeles

The humanitarian work Carter does as an ex-President is just a continuation of the work he did as President. MARC BOGERD Bangkok

Carter represents the best of America--those millions who devote their adult lives to caring for the sick, the poor and the disadvantaged. CAROL A. KIRGIS Camarillo, Calif.

Little Hope for the Poor

Your article "The Philadelphia Experiment" looked at educational reforms instituted by independent operators such as Edison Schools, Victory Schools and Chancellor Beacon Academies [EDUCATION, Oct. 21]. But by the time students get to the higher elementary grades, it's too late for these independent educational entities to intervene. Many poor children rank significantly behind other children in socialization, motivation and intellectual development before entering kindergarten. This gap widens as these students go on, because poor children don't have access to the same enriching experiences after school and during the summer. Philadelphia's efforts to improve failing schools by turning them over to independent operators will do little to change this bleak outlook because this approach does not address the underlying social issues that cause the problem in the first place. WALT GARDNER Los Angeles

They Do It Better in Europe

To get over his disappointment with the dryly academic Museum of Sex in New York City [ESSAY, Oct. 21], Joel Stein should get to the Sex Museum in Amsterdam. It'll really knock his socks off. With its collection of erotic objets d'art dating from the Roman period, this is a museum where old and young alike try both to satisfy and conceal their voyeuristic sides. The only academic thing about this place is the word museum in its name. ANDREW LONNGREN Harbord, Australia