Letters: Jul. 8, 2002

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A New Proposal to Protect the U.S.

"President Bush's plan for a Homeland Security agency is like sweeping the floor while a pot boils over on the stove." G. RICHARD THOMAS Ajijic, Mexico

President Bush knows better than anyone else that our country faces disaster at the hands of terrorists if aggressive measures are not taken immediately [NATION, June 17]. Bush's proposed creation of a Department of Homeland Security is a major step in bringing the country's terrorist-fighting forces together to meet this end. Sadly, the time it will take to create a Homeland Security office gives terrorists a large window of opportunity. Critical tactics in fighting this new and different war will require the utilization of human-intelligence operatives whose primary duty will be to infiltrate terrorist organizations, compromise and thwart their plans and ultimately identify and eliminate the leaders. ARMOND SIMMONS Pell City, Ala.

My adoptive grandparents were involved in the anti-Nazi resistance. Knowing their struggles, I strongly oppose the creation of a Department of Homeland Security. The name alone makes me shudder. The proposed agency would remove many checks and balances, placing too much power in the hands of too few. By creating this department, America would open itself to terrorism from within--terrorism most would call fascism. BETH HATCHEL Forest Grove, Ore.

A primary management principle is to make no major decision until you must. It is also imperative to keep major decisions confidential until the conditions are ripe for announcement. This is especially true within the political, back-biting world of Washington. The President's proposal for Homeland Security may not be perfect, but it is a step in the right direction. RICHARD J. RANDAZZO Bluffton, S.C.

Some personal freedoms must be sacrificed for security, but at what cost? And who will decide how many of our rights will be sacrificed? KELSEY HAYES Lenexa, Kans.

Mucking about with federal agencies will do nothing to ensure our liberty. Just bring back the Department of War, and turn it loose. The best defense is a solid offense. JACK CRAWFORD Silver Spring, Md.

I grew up in communist Poland, where the internal-security bureau had virtually no restrictions on investigating individuals or groups that were antigovernment. Is this the sort of country we want to live in? PAWEL BIEGUNSKI Naperville, Ill.

--The threat of terrorism makes everyone nervous, but some anxious readers misread our cover headline "Will His Plan Make Us Safer?", on the President's proposal. "I scanned the cover too quickly and erroneously thought it said, "Will His Plan Make Us Suffer?", stated a man from Spokane, Wash. "And after reading the article, I'm not so sure that wasn't the proper question to ask." A Las Vegas woman had a similar experience: "When I got my issue from the mailbox, the headline was partly covered by other mail, and I thought the word safer was suffer. I think this version of the question may be the right one."

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