U.S. Cannot Tolerate Israeli Leader’s Threat

Re “Sharon to Bush: Arafat a Target,” April 24: Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s threat to assassinate Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat should be met with an immediate response by this country.

If the “Butcher of Beirut” is going to claim that Arafat, a Nobel laureate who received the Peace Prize, no longer has “immunity,” then the U.S. should inform its own military that, should something happen to Arafat, Sharon too will be bereft of immunity. The time has come to stop mollycoddling this fascist thug Sharon and to put him in his place -- ideally, a jail cell in The Hague.

Ronald O. Richards

Los Angeles

Bush says Sharon made a pledge to not harm Arafat -- and must keep it. Yet one of the first things Bush did when assuming the presidency was to unilaterally abrogate the Antiballistic Missile Treaty with Russia. I guess if you are on “God’s mission,” as Bush professes to be, you can reverse anything you feel like, but the rest of us poor mortals have to tread the straight and narrow.

Bernard Rapkin

Los Angeles

Re “Arafat Is Undaunted by Israeli Threat on His Life,” April 25: Arafat should be daunted; Sharon has a good window of opportunity until the November election. Before this, Bush will be “troubled” but not take any action, and Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) will agree, as he did with the last Bush pronouncement. After the election, however, if Bush wins, he will have more freedom to deal with Sharon.

Dove Menkes

Fullerton

Maybe it’s time for this headline: Bush to Sharon: No More Money!

Jim Lambert

Toluca Lake