Margaret Thatcher

I found British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s “stern remarks” on the need for firm military action in the Persian Gulf very interesting. Her opening address to Parliament, reported on the day after our national elections, contrasts sharply with the political process in the U.S. in relationship to this potential conflict.

Two things seem particularly relevant. First, the lives that will be lost in the battles she urges will not be English lives but the lives of young Americans. Secondly, how unfortunate that our own national elections should have been conducted without any single campaign addressing the issues of the Persian Gulf crisis and the respective roles of Congress and the presidency.

THEODORE A. BRUINSMA

Rancho Palos Verdes