Bush and Putin Will Negotiate on ‘Star Wars’

Re “Bush, Putin Fail to Resolve Argument Over Necessity for 1972 Missile Treaty,” Oct. 22: President Bush said that the attacks that took place on Sept. 11 “make it clearer than ever that a Cold War ABM treaty . . . is outdated.” What? Can our president, whose star seems to be rising on the world stage, honestly state that some “Star Wars” missile shield would have prevented those terrorist acts? I say that the events of Sept. 11 make it clearer than ever that a missile shield is a move in the wrong direction. Such plans were conceived by the Reagan administration in order to bankrupt the Soviet Union.

We have two primary options when dealing with terrorism: eliminate terrorist leaders and organizations while keeping new ones in check, a plan somewhat akin to weeding a lawn, and removing the root issues that bring people together into such organizations. While neither will ever be entirely successful, they are not mutually exclusive. How much could we accomplish toward these goals with the money we would otherwise spend on a missile shield? I remember the old stand-up arcade game “Missile Command.” The problem was you always lost in the end.

Andrew Purvis

Upland

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Bush and his national security advisor, Condoleezza Rice, are members of a generation that equates ideas of their elders with the word “old.” The 1972 ABM treaty is considered the most notable to date in the area of arms control. Father of the H-bomb and master salesman Edward Teller planted “Star Wars” in the Oval Office. President Reagan, listening to glistening-eyed accounts of a bulletproof vest for America, approved billions for “defense” tinkering and the faking of successes, which were later rationalized as “we fooled the Russians.”

Today, rigged tests continue; the Russians are not fooled but frightened and disappointed with our attitude. We need their trust and cooperation in these fragile days. Corporations and their lobbyists must realize this. More than 18 years and billions of dollars later, “Star Wars” has proved to be a figment of Reagan’s imagination.

Mary Gribble

San Marino