‘Nicaragua: Words, Words’

I am writing to you in response to your editorial on Nicaragua.

You ask the question, “Does Nicaragua threaten this country’s vital national security?” and then go on to say that “the answer is no. . . . “ The dimension you have failed to mention is time, so I have to assume that you are actually asking if Nicaragua threatens this country’s security today, and of course, you are right, the answer is no.

However, The Times seems to find it easy to overlook the pattern of just such governments in their attempt to spread the cancer of repression throughout the world in the last few decades. So those of us who are capable of looking beyond the typical liberal short-viewed attitude are not asking, but rather stating: “We will institute policies today to avoid the need to fight totalitarianism of whatever flavor on our border with Mexico within a few years.” And if you don’t think Mexico’s stability should be questioned, then there’s no hope of your looking at the world with any useful degree of realism.

LUIS HOWARD

Camarillo