Letters: Dec. 3, 2001

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I am relieved that the U.S. government and the media are addressing the threat of a terrorist attack using nuclear weapons [TERRORISM, Nov. 12]. The only real obstacle to such an assault would be obtaining fissionable material. No infiltration, truck rental, border crossing or complex delivery system would be needed--a bomb could be detonated in the hold of a ship in an American harbor. If one of our coastal cities is ever hammered by a nuclear blast, the reduced effectiveness of the device at ground level will be of little comfort, and Sept. 11 will seem like an unheeded warning. We must do whatever is necessary to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons, materials and expertise. We should not delay in implementing policies that will protect our great cities from this disaster. STEVEN PAYNE Westville, N.J.

Overtaken by Events

In his commentary, Roger Rosenblatt noted that the U.S., following a period of "rampant vapidity," has reconnected with history since Sept. 11 [ESSAY, Nov. 12]. Not only is it time for us to get back into history, but we also need to remember its lessons. After the end of World War II, the U.S. used the Marshall Plan to pour millions of dollars into Western Europe to rebuild the countries ravaged by the war. When the war in Afghanistan is over, we need to invest in that country's future so another Osama bin Laden won't use it as a staging ground for terrorism. We cannot take on Afghanistan with half measures; we need a comprehensive plan to rebuild the country and return hope to its people. A.M. GULAS Alexandria, Va.

I've grown up as an American, learned my country's history. But birth and knowledge alone do not a citizen make. It often takes some great communal happening to make one feel truly connected to one's heritage and place. Every now and then an event marks the time for us with striking clarity. No matter how much sorrow lingers for the nation and the world after Sept. 11, no matter what fears we will have to accept, no matter how much anger we harbor, we're all in this together now. Isn't that what makes a nation? CHRISTOPHER KERNS Rockville, Md.

The Safety of Gum Arabic

In your article "What's Next?", about other potential weapons of terror [BIOTERROR, Nov. 5], you said one object of concern was imported gum arabic plants, the source of food additives that come largely from Sudan via Canada and may enter the U.S. uninspected because of the North American Free Trade Agreement. This was misleading. Gum arabic is imported into the U.S. directly from Africa in raw form, and at our company we liquefy, pasteurize and convert it into a powder. According to statistics from the U.S. International Trade Commission, no gum arabic was imported from Canada between 1996 and 2000. The level of concern over the safety of gum arabic in foods should be no less and no greater than that for any other food ingredient processed in the U.S. STEPHEN A. ANDON, PRESIDENT TIC Gums Belcamp, Md.

Fastball or Sinker?