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cellpadding="0" width="100%" border="0"> <tr> <td valign="center" align="middle" height="51"> <div align="right"><font class="time"><strong> <script language="javascript"> function showDate(){ var monthArray=["Jan", "Feb", "Mar", "Apr", "May", "Jun", "Jul", "Aug", "Sep", "Oct", "Nov", "Dec"] var days=["Sunday", "Monday", "Tuesday", "Wednesday", "Thursday", "Friday", "Saturday"] var d=new Date(); var month=d.getMonth() var day=d.getDate() var year=d.getYear() // document.write("Today is " + days[d.getDay()] + "<BR>") document.write(monthArray[month]) document.write(" ") document.write(day) document.write(", ") if(d.getYear()<2000){document.write(year+1900)} if(d.getYear()>2000){document.write(year)} } </script> <script language="javascript">showDate()</script> </strong></font> </div> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table> <table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" align="left" border="0"> <tr> <td valign="top" width="65%"> <table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="406" border="0"> <tr> <td width="406"> <p align="center"><br> <strong><font size="2">Please write to us at</font> </strong><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20030605103736/mailto:letters@atimes.com"> <strong><font size="2">letters@atimes.com</font></strong></a><br> <br> <font size="2">Lengthy letters run the risk of being cut.</font></p> <p> <p> <p> <p> <p> <p> <p> <p> <p> <p> <p> <p> <p> <p> <p> <p> <p> <p> <p> <p> <p> <p> <p> <p> <p> <p> <p> <hr> In this article [<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20030605103736/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/EF04Ak02.html" target="_blank">The truth, the whole truth and nothing but ...</a>, Jun 4] by [Jim] Lobe you state that: "When all three major US newsweeklies - Time, Newsweek and US News & World Report - run major features on the same day on possible government lying, you can bet you have the makings of a major scandal." Please be advised that Time, Newsweek and US News & World Report are run by, of and for big-city Troglodyte-commie-pinko-socialist elite journos who are born-again Democrats and who want a piece of President [George W] Bush so they can get the Democrats back in power. When you can find something the president actually lied about, let us know and we will give it consideration. Otherwise this is a big yawn and you look pretty dumb.<br>Your friendly but highly skeptical reader<br><b>LGE</b> <font color="#999999" size="1">(Jun 4, '03)</font><br><br><br>I recently stumbled across your publication whilst idly surfing. As a dedicated newshound, I found the quality of your journalism and the insights behind the major stories better than any I have so far encountered. Congratulations!!<br><b>Anon <font color="#999999" size="1">(Jun 4, '03)</font></b><br><br><br>I was reading through [Jason] Leopold's article [<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20030605103736/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/EF04Ak01.html" target="_blank">Why Saddam was doomed, WMDs or not</a>, Jun 4] when out popped this non sequitur: "The issue is the Bush administration lied to the world and launched an unjustifiable war." Leopold gave no preamble as to what lie had been made. His comment about an "unjustifiable war" seemed to be contradicted by his previous statement: "Iraqis are better off without Saddam Hussein, who ruled the country with an iron fist, torturing and murdering any citizen who spoke against his regime." That seems like a good justification to even Leopold. There were many reasons given for the war, which seems to have caused Leopold's confusion.<br>1. Saddam Hussein possessed WMD [weapons of mass destruction] which made him a danger. The jury is still out on this; only 300 [out of] 900 WMD sites have been searched.<br>2. Saddam Hussein had links with al-Qaeda, which had declared war on the US and therefore is a legitimate target. This was the only justified reason for the war in my mind and it was borne out by the documented evidence found before and after the war. The Salman Pak terrorist training ground with the jet and trains for training hijackers is particularly incriminating.<br>3. Saddam Hussein had violated numerous UN resolutions, which called for serious consequences.<br>4. Saddam Hussein had violated the terms of the ceasefire of 1991 and was thus liable to military action. This was probably the second-best reason for the war.<br>5. Saddam Hussein was cruel to his own people, and should be overthrown.<br>None of these reasons are in dispute except No 1, and I feel that is merely a matter of time before WMD are discovered in Iraq or Syria or Iran. Please continue your stimulating articles from various points of view. The letters they engender are often better than the articles themselves.<br><b>Jeffry J Smith<font color="#999999" size="1">(Jun 4, '03)</font></b><br><br><br>I have to disagree with Jason Leopold [<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20030605103736/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/EF04Ak01.html" target="_blank">Why Saddam was doomed, WMDs or not</a>, Jun 4]. For a change I think that George W Bush might be right. Saddam Hussein must have produced nerve gas. Why else would the president and all his men have such paranoia, delusion and psychosis about weapons of mass destruction in the absence of any evidence as to their existence? It seems that the fumes have pervaded Iran too. Might as well deal with the problem while the troops are in the neighborhood, I suppose. And all the while, the terrorists run free. On reflection, do they exist or are they freedom fighters or figments of drug-induced imagination? Oh, what the hell, don't take any chances, eliminate them all. Justice must prevail.<br><b>Jeremy Ridl</b><br>South Africa <font color="#999999" size="1">(Jun 4, '03)</font><br><br><br>In response to Frank's (Seattle) letter, he believes that Indians do not have first-hand knowledge of other countries, which I find very amusing coming from an American. Most Americans are fed world affairs by Fox, CNN etc. Anyone who has seen Fox for an hour would be able to make a judgment of their own about the quality of material shown on Fox. Though he suggests that Indians should stick to writing about India, he reserves the right to write about India. May I make the same request to him that he should also stick to writing about the US (I am assuming he is American). As for the minorities, just like in India, the US also has African-Americans whose living standards can be lifted. I would request that the writer pay more attention closer to home just as he has requested to Indians.<br><b>Anurag</b><br>Melbourne, Australia <font color="#999999" size="1">(Jun 4, '03)</font><br><br><br>Frank insists that he wants Chinese writers to write about India, but at the same time Indian writers should not write about China because they allegedly don't have enough "first-hand knowledge" - a rather baseless and self-serving assertion. Ironically, Frank hasn't put forth the demand that Chinese writers be given greater freedom to write about China first. If Frank wants to read Indian writers on India, I'd suggest a good book - <i>Discovery of India</i> by India's late prime minister pundit Jawaharlal Nehru. Hopefully this book will give him apparently much-needed elementary insight into India's past and present, especially about its social fabric and tradition of assimilation, acculturation, and tolerance that have been its hallmark since thousands of years.<br><b>Piyush</b><br>India <font color="#999999" size="1">(Jun 4, '03)</font><br><br><br>I was interested to read the letter you printed from Thanh Trang (from Vietnam) who explored some of the evident incompatibilities surrounding US policy in Iraq. Perhaps, as he suggests, oil was the main reason - one agrees it certainly was a significant factor. However, is he serious in his assertion that he would have been supportive of US action during Pol Pot's reign in Cambodia, or, for that matter anywhere else? Sadly, too many modern nations are blighted by internal struggle; perhaps the reasons are physical boundaries drawn without regard compounded by natural reverse and perversely corrupted by that collective human failing, the unwillingness to see beyond narrow personal advantage. It is certainly depressing that while the world rarely unites over what is in our common interest, disregarding the widespread fantasies found in the UN and in such treaties as Kyoto, we happily embrace the drearily negative and kick the US even when it does do some good. While Christian principles are not universal, there is one useful phrase we can all relate to: "Let him who is without sin cast the first stone." The overturning of a dictator in Iraq offers the chance for a life lived free of personal whim. The US and the Iraqi people would benefit from some help to see this come to fruition. Let the world offer to assist the one nation who really made a difference, not carp endlessly over its failings.<br><b>Barry Sheridan</b><br>England <font color="#999999" size="1">(Jun 4, '03)</font><br><br><br>It is hard to take someone seriously when they write complete absurdities. In the article <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20030605103736/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/EF03Ak02.html" target="_blank">A threadbare emperor tours the world</a> [Jun 3], your reporter writes that [US President George W] Bush raised the debt limit. No, he didn't. Congress is the only entity that can do that, and they did. I truly loathe the Shrub, but how can I read an article and take it seriously with such a gaping flaw in it?<br><b>TMS III <font color="#999999" size="1">(Jun 4, '03)</font></b><br><br><br> In response to the recent spate of letters regarding the supposed "anti-Americanism" that Rob alluded to, I'd like to throw in my own two cents. Most people would consider me to be on the right side of the political spectrum. More specifically, I'm a libertarian, but I tend to agree with the Republicans more often. I'm also a pretty patriotic guy; my car's rear window proudly displays the Stars and Stripes. However, Rob, I think you are way off-base in suggesting that [Asia Times Online] has an "anti-American" bias. I find that in general, this paper presents the issues in a pretty unbiased manner. And it is extremely important to understand global issues we in the US may be involved in from the point of view of other countries. It is not un-American to question our government's policy, nor is every article which questions US policy anti-American. Open your eyes and realize that patriotism and pride are not the same as arrogance and the concept of "my country right or wrong".<br><b>James</b><br>USA <font color="#999999" size="1">(Jun 3, '03)</font><br><br><br>I feel sorry for Rob and fellow Americans, they doesn't realize that the whole world is against America's actions. Here is one fact: While half of the world lives in poverty in which children starve and people have no access to water or health facilities, America spends US$400 billion a year on defense. The world is not asking for money from America. All they asking for is fair trade [and for America] to stop arming terrorists, and don't stir up trouble (using India to undermine China to the US's advantage). I would suggest that Asia Times Online should have a column where people can submit links since many people from all over the world visit the site. ATol, keep up your good work.<br><b>A Ananth <font color="#999999" size="1">(Jun 3, '03)</font></b><br><br><br>Regarding John Berthelsen's article on Katrina Leung [<font size="2"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20030605103736/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/EE27Ad02.html" target="_blank">The spy who was anything but cold</a></font>, May 27], it is interesting that for all the hype and hysterics over the allegations against Leung, the one documented and admitted case of spying in the whole case was committed by the United States. In particular, Berthelsen minimizes the fact that the US placed surveillance bugs on Jiang Zemin's airplane when it was being built in the US. If China had engaged in a similar spy operation to place bugs on Air Force One, you can imagine the outrage and venom that would have been spewed by American nationalists. When the US engages in such activity, Americans shrug their shoulders and even act as if they are justified or entitled to do these kinds of things. This is yet another example of the arrogance and self-righteous hypocrisy which permeates the American national character.<br><b>Anon <font color="#999999" size="1">(Jun 3, '03)</font></b><br><br><br>Jim Lobe: [George W] Bush and our craven Congress are maxing out our nation's "credit card" and taking a second mortgage on America's future [<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20030605103736/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/EF03Ak02.html " target="_blank">A threadbare emperor tours the world</a>, Jun 3]. The Iraq war and tax cuts for the well-off are not only morally wrong, but financially irresponsible. Thanks for your report. <br><b>R T Carpenter</b><br>Florida <font color="#999999" size="1">(Jun 3, '03)</font><br><br><br>In response to <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20030605103736/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Central_Asia/EE27Ag01.html" target="_blank">Afghanistan and broken promises</a> by Hooman Peimani, I thought of a discussion I had with a Republican mate who wanted our boys home a month ago - leaving chaos in their wake as in Afghanistan. I want them to stay as long as necessary. That's the asinine thing about the liberal left at the moment (among many other things). They didn't agree with the war, fine, I concur, but now that Iraq's broke we own it and have an obligation not only to the Iraqi people, but to the world, and our own future security to do it right. By leaving you're hardly going to win any hearts in the region - doing exactly what they most feared. I don't give a shit about perceptions of being an occupying power. If that's what it takes, so be it. If we rush out the door with [Ahmad] Chalabi or some other criminal fool in power that house of puppeteer cards will fall within a year, and Iran will have a good neighbor for sure. This ain't Japan or Germany, but anything can be done with enough guns and cash - start talking about a new Marshall Plan for the now American-Arab world, and that beacon of hope would outshine all anti-Americanism in the region. The problem is as yet I don't see the commitment, and perhaps this goes back to our anti-diplomacy before the conflict. If I'm French or Swedish or Swiss, I sure wouldn't want to be sending my cash for reconstruction, when it only benefits American companies, and without any UN supervision. Personally, I think it's worth paying for, but try telling it straight to Americans. Try telling them you want US$100 billion for reconstruction in Iraq, which will take years, not months, if done right. Tell them this when you offer only a fraction to their own fiscally bankrupt states. Try telling them their kids need less teachers and extracurricular activities in schools, and their towns less police and fire departments (secure the homeland!) and libraries. Or how about the assault-weapon ban in Iraq (but in the US guns are just fine), or the idea of nationalized health care that's been endorsed for Iraqis, or how we keep hearing about Iraqi oil for the Iraqi people. Of course, with oil wealth all of this is possible long-term, but initially you're going to ask the union worker in Michigan to foot this bill, when he can't get these things in Dearborn. Like in America, right - all of these things right! Socialism lives, in Iraq, and on American backs. And you know we have the attention span of gnats - how many weeks will it take before dead US soldiers start to enrage viewers? Do we have the staying power, as a nation? Go ask 10 people in front of your office when [was] the last time they read about Afghanistan or saw something on TV about it. This is the media's fault in many ways, but they do it because that's what people want - what happened to Laci [Peterson]! We're pampered twits in so many ways. You can have your Hummer, you can have it all - cutting back is not for the victors. There's a reason why the precedents for nation-building people talk about go back 50 years - to nations hardly as divided, nations that already had the underpinnings of democracy. What we're doing now, however, should have been done in Afghanistan too. Our charming and finely dressed king of Kabul is a joke. Seems the mistakes made 15 years ago, leaving that tribal mess to its own devices, will repeat themselves. But that's the idea, isn't it - wage war and reap profits from the reconstruction, and the pattern repeats. Long-term security and peace, however, [and] the military industrial complex [wouldn't] make those huge profits. They don't want peace any more than the two sides of the gun lobby want compromise. Only in conflict is there profit. I didn't want to go to war in Iraq, but if we're going to do it we have to do it right. However, I'll believe we can only when it's done. May sound ambiguous or contradictory, but that's reality. The ignorant optimist speaking in absolutes, about regions he's never stepped foot in, histories he can't imagine - he's the fool. His innocence will be his undoing in the end, and perhaps the undoing of all of us.<br><b>Jeffrey C Esser</b><br>West Palm Beach, Florida <font color="#999999" size="1">(Jun 3, '03)</font><br><br><br>This is in response to Anon's personal attacks. For the record, I have always asked for more coverage of India. I complained that there are too many Indian writers commenting on other countries [about] which they do not have much first-hand knowledge. Recycled material is dull. I questioned why don't the Indians write about their own country? I would like to know why there are no articles contributed by Chinese writers regarding India. I suggest Anon read my letter before starting his personal attacks. I have a reason why I only mentioned Muslims, Sikhs, Buddhists, Harijans or Untouchables. Those people are the most oppressed people in India. Many of them would like to establish their own countries. I also commented on many other things which had been cut off by some India-biased editor working for Asia Times Online. Let me conclude my letter with the following requests: Less India-biased articles. More coverage over India and its minorities.<br><b>Frank</b><br>Seattle, Washington <font color="#999999" size="1">(Jun 3, '03)</font><br><br><br>In reference to Marcia MacMullan's [comment] that "Clearly the US invasion of Afghanistan did not cause this fanaticism, nor did it cure the problem," I am glad to see that there is consensus at least on the first part of the statement. With regard to curing the problem, at no time did the United States claim that the invasion of Afghanistan would solve the problem of Islamic terrorism. It was supposed to be, and certainly did turn out to be, one significant step. Would MacMullan submit that if a course of action yields only partial results, it should not be taken at all? <br><b>Parag Vohra</b><br>Washington, DC <font color="#999999" size="1">(Jun 3, '03)</font><br><br><br> <table class="" id="table1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="3" width="100%" border="1"> <tr> <td class="" valign="top" bordercolor="black" align="left" height="0"><font color="#ff0000" size="2"><a href="/web/20030605103736/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/EF03Ae06.html"><strong>An NGO takes issue with ATol</strong></a></font><br> <strong>JATAM</strong> (Mining Advocacy Network) of Indonesia takes issue with Bill Guerin's May 12 article, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20030605103736/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/EE13Ae01.html"> <font color="#0000ff">Indonesia's mining quagmire</font></a>. JATAM says it "does not follow the gospel as laid down by the so-called 'anti-mining foreign NGOs'". <strong>Guerin</strong>, in turn, asks, what <i>is</i> it, exactly, that JATAM does? Please <font size="2"><a href="/web/20030605103736/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/EF03Ae06.html"><strong> click here</strong></a></font> for the full letters.</td> </tr> </table> <br> <br> With regards to the letter you receive from Rob [below], he mentions that after looking at the list of senior writers he found that there were quite a few Arabs and a back-stabbing Frenchman. After I checked your list I only found several Britishs, two Indians, a Pakistani, a Russian, a Spaniard, an Italian and one Arab American, to name a few. But, like the weapons of mass destruction that the US claimed were in Iraq, I cannot find the back-stabbing Frenchman and all those Arabs on your list. Are you hiding French and Arab writers from your readers? It would have been more interesting and constructive for Rob to have pointed out what part of the article he disagrees with, instead of resorting to name-calling, like the current American administration, to win an argument.<br> <b>Richard Legault</b><br> Ottawa, Canada <font color="#999999" size="1">(Jun 2, '03)</font><br> <br> <br> In reply to Rob's letter castigating Asia Times Online for being "anti-American", I would rather say, not as a French person, not as an Arab, but as an ordinary Asian, that the West should accept that more than half the world's population, which lives in Asia, sees the world from a different angle. Not because they hate America, but because America does little to solve their problems but does a great deal to make nations toe its line. Be it Iraq, Iran, North Korea or Afghanistan, America thinks - with conviction - that it has the right to interfere in others' matters, both internal and external, even if it impinges on the sovereignity of the target country. The only sovereignity that the US really respects is its own; everyone else is <i>ajam</i> (the term used by the pre-Islamic Arabs for all other races and people speaking different languages, for they thought they were superior to every other nation). I would surely love America if it allowed others the same freedom it so much cherishes for its own people. The feelings and views expressed by the writers in Asia Times Online are shared by all and sundry in Asia.<br> <b>Ahmad R Shahid</b><br> Islamabad <font color="#999999" size="1">(Jun 2, '03)</font><br> <br> <br> I am an American who relies on the foreign press, including Asia Times Online, to keep myself informed of international events since our own media - with a few exceptions - have sold out to big business and right-wing ideologues. That way I can get news stories weeks and often months before they finally surface here in the US as well as analyses that are not tainted by writers trying to curry favor with those in power. And, Rob, I am not anti-American at all - just anti-thought-control by the Bush propaganda machine.<br> <b>Heide <font color="#999999" size="1">(Jun 2, '03)</font></b><br> <br> <br> In response to the letter from Rob, he mentions but fails to explain what the '"blatant lies" are. However, he does not neglect to inform us of the source of the blatant lies. Apparently certain types of journalists shouldn't be allowed to report. For example, the French are "back-stabbers" - the same nonsensical accusation Hitler leveled at the Jews. As for those unfortunates, the Arabs, it seems that being an "Arab" is crime enough.<br> <b>Bob Hu</b><br> Australia <font color="#999999" size="1">(Jun 2, '03)</font><br> <br> <br> I really like your articles recently. I've read over and over <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20030605103736/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/EE29Ak01.html"> <font color="blue">WMD: Will the real culprit stand up</font></a> (May 29), and <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20030605103736/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/EE24Ak01.html"><font color="blue"> US: New master of Iraqi oil ceremonies</font></a> (May 24). You're telling the truth, and that's why Americans don't agree with you; they think the US liberated Iraq, and did not invade for the oil. If Iraq had no oil, would the US have spent billions of dollars on the war to set the Iraqis free from Saddam? I wonder why the US ignores millions of Ethiopians suffering from starvation, and did not liberate Cambodia when more than 2 million were being killed under Pol Pot's regime.<br> <b>Thanh Trang</b><br> Vietnam <font color="#999999" size="1">(Jun 2, '03)</font><br> <br> <br> This is in reply to the recent article by Sultan Shahin, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20030605103736/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/EE31Df03.html"> <font color="blue">Vajpayee bets his last shirt on Kashmir</font></a> (May 31). I can assure the author that [Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari] Vajpayee (as an elected leader) may loose his shirt (his job as prime minister or his political carreer) if he made any serious compromises on Kashmir without the people's support - but he need not run away from the country for his life. It is [Pakistani Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan] Jamali or [Pakistani President General Pervez] Musharraf who have to worry about their lives as well as their jobs. Remember the fate of Nawaz Sharif and how Musharraf came to power?<br> <b>Skodavat</b><br> USA <font color="#999999" size="1">(Jun 2, '03)</font><br> <br> <br> Sultan Shahin's article <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20030605103736/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/EE31Df03.html"> <font color="blue">Vajpayee bets his last shirt on Kashmir</font></a> (May 31) is biased and condescending. I hope the Pakistani negotiators do not have similar mindsets or else the process is definitely doomed from the start. Do Sultan and Pakistan really think that what they have been unable to obtain using overt (military) and covert (terrorism) means, will be handed to them on a platter during the talks? Realpolitik, anyone?<br> <b>Dharmayudh Singh <font color="#999999" size="1">(Jun 2, '03)</font></b><br> <br> <br> Sudha Ramachandran's article <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20030605103736/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/EE31Df02.html"> <font color="blue">Kashmir's dirty little secret</font></a> (May 31), is to be commended. It highlights the core issue of how terrorism sustains and spreads - first by destroying the economy of a region and then by supplanting it with wages for terrorist activities. So much for the Hurriyat Conference's credentials. They are nothing but traitors posing as "freedom fighters". Now if only more people understand the true nature of the problem in J&K, we will be on our way to finding peace there.<br> <b>Anoop Chengara <font color="#999999" size="1">(Jun 2, '03)</font></b><br> <br> <br> Analysis seems to be directed to the idea that Iranians themselves are capable of changing their regime without B-52s (<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20030605103736/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/EE29Ak03.html"><font color="blue">Leave it to the Iranians</font></a>, May 29). So far so good, but isn't it a bit naive, at this stage, to assume that Washington wants to see democracy established in Iran? Although I don't doubt that Iranians, if left alone, would choose independence, what makes you think they will ever be permitted to do so? It is no use bringing out the fact that Iran is not Iraq; the B-52 can make them quite equal for American purposes. (There are as many potential looters in Tehran and Isfahan as in Baghdad or Basra.) You seem to discard clerics as a spent force which contradicts the fact that they exert a considerable influence on the majority of the Iraqi population. Don't you think that those Shi'tes there are the first line of defense of Iran?<br> <b>P Vujacic <font color="#999999" size="1">(Jun 2, '03)</font></b><br> <br> <br> You are the best source of information about the world in general that is available on the internet and I thank you. Especially, thanks for presenting Henry C K Liu. He is so exceptional it is difficult to describe. His writing is eloquent, his topics are of world interest, and his knowledge is great. I have never found a writer such as he in any of the many news sites I regularly sign in on. Again, I thank you and your staff for the excellent job you are doing.<br> <b>Megan Sweet</b><br> Oregon, USA <font color="#999999" size="1">(Jun 2, '03)</font><br> <br> <br> I read [Syed Saleem] Shahzad's last article with interest [<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20030605103736/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/EE30Df01.html" target="_blank">The third force in the Kashmir equation</a>, May 30]. The notion of the US using India against China and to sabotage the Chinese-Pakistan alliance may in fact be the reason behind US backing of the Chenab formula. However, I doubt that Indians would agree to this solution. Effectively, the partition of Kashmir has already occurred through Pakistan's occupation of approximately one-third of the territory. Thus, just like in Punjab and elsewhere, Muslims who do not wish to live in India should move to the other side. This was the basis on which Pakistan was formed. Let us not forget that Pundits were the original inhabitants of the land. Does one really think they would be safe in a Pakistan-controlled Kashmir - in a country where all but a minority of Hindus have been ethnically cleansed? Legally, Pakistan has no claim to the land, and is not in material possession either. Secession of princely states to India or Pakistan was based on the decision of the ruler. Citing Junagadh and Hyderabad as examples of India reneging on this deal is incorrect, as the rules stipulated that the kingdoms must be contiguous to either country, therefore they were not free to join Pakistan. Pakistan is a party to this dispute because it is a party to violence and terror in the state. As Kashmiris achieve more autonomy and better governance, militancy will drop off - especially so given the Indian army's recent success in thwarting infiltration, the successful last round of elections, a Kashmiri people tired of violence, and international pressure on Pakistan to abandon terrorism. The most likely solution would be to maintain the status quo, with both Kashmirs having autonomy and freedom of movement along the LoC [Line of Control], and gradual military disengagement as violence decreases.<br> <b>Mark <font color="#999999" size="1">(May 30, '03)</font></b><br> <br> <br> I read a headline online "Iran is next on the list", that got my attention, and by the time I got done reading it I had to find out the source of all the blatant lies. What I found was your Asia Times Online. After looking at the list of senior writers I was able to understand why you could be so anti-American. it appears that you have a backstabbing Frenchman, and quite a few Arabs as the writers. Why don't you be a real information agency and try telling the truth to your readers?<br> <b>Rob <font color="#999999" size="1">(May 30, '03)</font></b><br> <br> <br> With all the prevarication spewed out by the British and Americans in Iraq I'm relieved that they don't have wooden noses. <br> <b>Anon <font color="#999999" size="1">(May 30, '03)</font></b><br> <br> <br> I would like to thank Sultan Shahin for his article <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20030605103736/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/EE24Df09.html" target="_blank"> India rediscovers <i>kama</i></a> [May 24], which explored sexuality in ancient and modern India and also invoked Indian deities Krishna and Radha. It is this sort of openness that will allow us to understand each other's religions. I would like to ask Shahin to comment on sexuality in the ancient and modern Islamic world and also explore the religious angle using Islam's prophet. Unless, of course, Shahin and Asia Times Online fear a <i>fatwa,</i> ie death threat, that would deem such an article as sacrilege, and choose not to write [it]. But then would that not be blatant hypocrisy? Also, I agree with your reader, Frank of Seattle, who mentions "there also should be some articles covering the Indian minorities" [letter below]. The world needs to know that India's minorities are given freedom and opportunities that are not even available in the Western world. A Muslim is India's president and a Christian is its defense minister. Its prime ministers have been women as well as the people from the lowest strata of Indian society. Has the USA ever had an African-American or woman president? And what is the record of the Islamic states when it comes to treatment of minorities? In fact, does the Islamic world have any minorities left?<br> <b>Dharmayudh Singh</b><br> Miami, Florida <font color="#999999" size="1">(May 30, '03)</font><br> <br> <br> Sorry, Parag Vohra [letter below], you're inserting another non sequitur in your comment on my letter regarding K P S Gill's <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20030605103736/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/EE28Df02.html" target="_blank"> Reassessing the 'war on terror'</a> [May 28]. "The basic premise of MacMullan's theory is that the American invasion of Afghanistan created 'angry young men throughout the Muslim world'." Wrong. My premise is that US "shock and awe" tactics will not eliminate terrorism, let alone al-Qaeda or its successors. "She does not explain the existence of these angry young men on or before September 11, 2001." For the purpose of my original comments, there was no reason to burden my argument with a disquisition on the economic, political, demographic, and religious history of the Middle East in the 20th century. Suffice it that obviously well-informed readers of Asia Times Online understand the wellsprings of Muslim fanaticism. Clearly the US invasion of Afghanistan did not cause this fanaticism, nor did it cure the problem. Doubtless we could argue indefinitely about understanding dangers confronting the "liberal West", but I can assure you that I am vividly aware of dangers that are, perhaps, undreamed of in your philosophy.<br> <b>Marcia MacMullan <font color="#999999" size="1">(May 30, '03)</font></b><br> <br> <br> So now Frank [letter below] is extolling an article on India and wants others to read it saying that there is not enough coverage of a vast country like India on Asia Times Online. Is the leopard changing its spots? Before he claimed that there were too many articles on India and especially by women. I was awaiting a fit from him when I saw another class article by Shehla [Raza Hasan] on Indian IT [information technology] some time ago, presumably another Indian woman and perhaps Muslim. I wonder why he did not mention Parsis, Jews, Jains and Christians in his list of Indian minorities. Or not expand his list to mention Shi'as, Sunnis, Qadianis, Bohras, Catholics, Protestants, Orthodox and so on. Or the leopard can't hide its spots?<br> <b>Anon <font color="#999999" size="1">(May 30, '03)</font></b> </td> </tr> </table> <br> </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="65%"> </td> </tr> </table> </td> <td valign="top" width="10" background="/web/20030605103736im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/line.gif"><img height="1" src="/web/20030605103736im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/1pix.gif" width="9"></td> <td valign="top" align="left" width="130"> <table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="117" align="center" border="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20030605103736/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/letters.html"> <center><img hspace="0" src="/web/20030605103736im_/http://www.atimes.com/atimes//images/letters-to-editor.gif" border="0"><strong></strong> </a> </center> </td> </tr> <tr> <td height="5"><img height="5" src="/web/20030605103736im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/1pix.gif" width="5"></td> </tr> <tr> <td><a 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