Persian Gulf War
Your editorial “The Fearsome Cost” (Aug. 11) documented the terrible cost of the Persian Gulf War caused by “the criminal misjudgments and stubborn cruelty of leaders who caused the war to go on and on . . .” You neglected to address the question--”How can the world prevent the next cruel senseless war?”
The answer was proposed many years ago by the United States and the Soviet Union in a “Joint Statement of Agreed Principles for Disarmament Negotiations.” We jointly proposed the creation of “a United Nations Peace Force strong enough to deter or suppress any threat or use of arms in violation of the United Nations Charter” and “arrangements for the use of this force . . .” This statement was adopted unanimously by the United Nations General Assembly including “. . . The obligation of states to place at the disposal of the United Nations agreed manpower necessary for an international peace force to be equipped with agreed types of armaments.”
The Reagan Administration’s method for stopping the Persian Gulf War was to jump in on the side of Iraq. Iran has claimed that this American aggression, as evidenced by our destruction of their civilian airliner, was its main reason for asking for peace.
A United Nations Peace Force equipped and supported by both the U.S. and the USSR could have ended the war years ago. Why have we not asked the Russians to fulfill their commitment?
EDWARD C. PERRY II
Palm Springs
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