There is a very misleading statement in your report on Camp David, “Blowing the Best Chance” (April 1), in which you say that “the most enduring indictment against Arafat” is that he shrank before hard decisions. That is only partially true. He could not or would not make the hard decision to accept a truly generous peace offer from Israel, but he clearly made the hard decision to unleash the intifada, to give free rein to the militants, to condemn suicide bombings while permitting them to occur on a daily basis and to call for “the peace of the brave,” while permitting Palestinians to wage the war of the cowardly by targeting civilians. By his ability to make only hard decisions leading to bloodshed, Arafat has brought unspeakable tragedy not only on Israel, but on his people as well. That will be his enduring legacy. Jack Rosen, President American Jewish Congress New York, N.Y.
NEWSWEEK’s April 1 Special Report might more fairly ask: “The Future of Palestine: Will America Ever Allow the Palestinians to Recover Their Land?” Americans need to think outside the box to understand the mind-set of the Palestinians that has led to 54 years of bloodshed. How would we as Americans feel if a people with ancient ties to our community occupied, as God’s chosen people, our property, drove us from our homes, and impoverished and made second-class citizens of those who stayed? Would we be called terrorists if we forcibly resisted by any means necessary the overpowering might of our occupiers? Would we harbor animosity toward the world’s most influential nation for enabling the occupiers to do this to us? America cannot expect to rally support in our quest to topple Saddam Hussein when we undermine our stature in the Middle East by allowing this egregious wrong committed against an oppressed people to continue. Rich Cunliffe Haddonfield, N.J.
If there is ever to be a long-lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinians, then Israel must change the paradigm that exists between these warring cultures. As it stands now, the Palestinians have absolutely nothing to live for. This is a fertile breeding ground for terrorism with the ultimate end being martyrdom and an expectation of eternal life for the suicide bombers. There is no pursuit of happiness in the world of the Palestinians. Israel must completely change its approach to its neighbors. It must undertake the rebuilding of Palestine just as the United States did with Germany and Japan after World War II. The creation of jobs and schools would give the Palestinians something to live for, and only Israel can provide that something. Ed T. Barron Washington, D.C.
Your guest columnist Sari Nusseibeh’s conceptual framework for peace in the Middle East seems to be reasonable and hopeful, even workable ("… Build a Bridge to the West," The Future Of Israel, April 1). Unfortunately, he is cursed with the fact that the leader of his people is Yasir Arafat. If Arafat is unable to control the murderous suicide bombers who act in the name of the PLO, he cannot guarantee a lasting peace and is therefore worthless as a peacemaker. If, on the other hand, Arafat has the power to restrain or direct these same suicide bombers and has chosen not to stop them, he, too, wears the mask of a terrorist, and any promises he might make as part of a peace accord will lack even a modicum of credibility. Someone who is genuinely interested in making peace does not approach the peace table with dynamite strapped to his chest. Steve Katz West Hollywood, Calif.
A Very Public ‘Mea Culpa’
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As a sexual-abuse survivor, I deeply grieve for the victims whom Conway and others like him have left in their wake. I have experienced firsthand the loss, shame and anger associated with being sexually abused as a child–of being robbed of my innocence. It’s no easy thing to endure, much less overcome. However, the most painful part of my recovery has been (and remains) the unwillingness of my abuser, whom I love and have forgiven, to admit the crime, much less apologize for the pain and anguish he has caused. My hat is off to Neil Conway for the respect he has shown his victims and the courage it took to do so. He will never be able to change the past or erase the pain he has caused. But at least, by assuming responsibility and offering a sincere apology, he has given to each victim the possibility of a full recovery, and thus, a more promising future. Tina Hammergren Harrison, Ohio
Enough! Father Neil Conway is nothing less than a criminal who should be serving time in prison for his illegal conduct. NEWSWEEK’s sympathetic portrayal of Conway’s attempts to organize fellow criminals into some sort of support group is disappointing. The time has passed for panels, commissions, investigations, “reforms,” guidelines, reassignments, sermons and prayers. What is needed now are judges, juries, prosecutors, trials and substantial prison sentences for those found guilty of crimes. If the church wishes to redeem itself in the eyes of its parishioners and the world at large, it must immediately adopt a zero-tolerance, one-strike-you’re-out policy toward future incidents and individuals. John C. Horgan Milwaukee, Wis.
The Church and the Flesh
Anna Quindlen is uninterested in laying out the true nature of the clerical sexual-abuse scandal: some priests committing grievously sinful acts and some bishops making terribly foolish decisions. Instead, she gathers up her scrap heap of half-truths, untruths and mischaracterizations of the Catholic Church’s teachings regarding sexuality and pawns them off as evidence of a “bizarre preoccupation with sins of the flesh.” How does the church define human sexuality? As a gift from God, an integral part of a marriage in which love and fidelity are pledged. John Paul II has even compared sexual love within the bonds of marriage to the interior life of God as understood in the Trinity. By contrast, Quindlen and other “enlightened” apologists for our current sexual mores envision men and women as little more than animals at the mercy of an all-defining sex drive. To paraphrase G. K. Chesterton, the church’s teachings on sexuality have not been tried and found wanting; they have been found difficult and left untried. Joseph Chronister La Grange, Ill.
Man’s Best Friends Go Ballistic
Iraq’s Secret Decisions
Iraqi Officers Movement for the Salvation of Iraq
Editor’s Note: In the March 25 article, NEWSWEEK reported that General Al Shammary carried out Saddam’s orders to gas the Iranians. We did not state, and did not mean to imply, that the general was actually involved in the decision-making process or the specifics of its implementation.
