Abstract
Just say it
It was refreshing to finally hear someone with the courage and common sense to actually say that the U.S. military should leave Iraq (“Elephant in the Closet,” November/December 2004 Bulletin).
John Isaacs skillfully illustrated the issues point-by-point in a way that the Bush administration is frighteningly unwilling to do. My only disappointment–the lack of proper language regarding the actions of the U.S. government and military. Never once was it described as aggression.
Where was the call for the impeachment of George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Colin Powell, and Donald Rumsfeld? Such a call is already absent in the mainstream media. At least the article featured the only real answer: Get out of Iraq now!
Denver, Colorado
Doomsday rethought
I appreciated “Rethinking Doomsday” (November/December 2004), but it seems that everyone is missing an important point regarding smallpox. Smallpox is a doomsday weapon, as are the other highly contagious diseases. If an epidemic were started in the United States, it would take only a short period of time for the disease to spread throughout the world, including the countries terrorists favor. In fact, Western countries are probably able to handle such an outbreak better than developing countries. The AIDS epidemic illustrates this.
I believe that Al Qaeda is smart enough to recognize this, but perhaps we should publicize it to deter other terrorist groups.
Oakland, California
Despite the richly informative and all-encompassing character of your recent article on weapons of mass destruction (“Rethinking Doomsday”), I was distressed that you downplayed the danger of a nuclear Iran.
The dangers of nuclear disaster increase greatly with a nuclear Iran. It could spur a Mideast nuclear arms race as more than 20 nations in the region have the know-how and capacity to produce nuclear weapons.
I admit your article focused on the danger to the continental United States, but Iran is fanatical in its determination to destroy Israel. I do not imagine that a nuclear strike on Tel Aviv would go unanswered. An Iranian first-strike would greatly harm Israel, but such an attack would have even larger implications.
I am not advocating any particular course vis-à-vis Iran. I have, however, been studying the regime and its intentions for some time. Becoming a nuclear power is perhaps one of the few issues that unites the regime and the Iranian masses. It seems to me that your article should have indicated the new danger that a nuclear Iran will present to the world.
Jerusalem, Israel
Move toward midnight?
I've noticed the Doomsday Clock is still at seven minutes to midnight. Considering the mad mullahs of Iran are putting the finishing touches on their semi-clandestine nuclear bomb program and that former Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani is on the record stating that Muslims should use a nuclear weapon against Israel, why haven't you moved the clock forward?
Tustin, California
Why don't you update the clock because of George W. Bush's reelection? He is every bit as dangerous to this planet as nuclear weapons.
Newnan, Georgia
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