Spielberg's Shot to the Heart

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Our exclusive report on Steven Spielberg's new film, Munich, generated some unease: Was the director granting too much humanity to the Palestinian terrorists who murdered 11 Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympics? But Spielberg fans eagerly anticipated the filmmaker's take on an emotionally charged subject

Your cover story on Steven Spielberg's new movie, Munich, described the film as "so sensitive it was kept under wraps" [Dec. 12]. What's so sensitive? The terrorist massacre of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics and Israel's response were credibly addressed in the 1986 movie Sword of Gideon. Still, I look forward to seeing Spielberg's moviemaking talents brought to bear on this story of terrorism and a nation's legitimate response. Sensitive or not, the movie — if it's good — will sell itself.
Chris Krisinger
Colonel, U.S.A.F.
Burke, Virginia, U.S.

I hope that Munich is a big success. The story of the Israeli athletes who were cold-bloodedly murdered should never be forgotten. I wish there were more brave people like Spielberg. He is willing to tell the truth in his movies and make a difference.
Elena Shumsky
Orlando, Florida, U.S.

I was disappointed to learn that Spielberg considered the heart of his movie to be a fictionalized incident in which a Palestinian terrorist engages in a civil discussion with an Israeli. By rewriting history to humanize the terrorists, Spielberg misses the whole point of the Munich massacre. If the terrorists had been inclined to make their case rationally, the all-too-real atrocities perpetrated against the Israeli national team at the 1972 Olympics would never have occurred.
Aharon Shifron-Ronnie
Concord, California, U.S.

Spielberg said he and screenwriter Tony Kushner didn't "demonize" the terrorist characters in Munich, since he felt that "many of them [were] reasonable and civilized." If Spielberg were making a film about Adolf Hitler, Heinrich Himmler and Adolf Eichmann — another gang that slaughtered Jews — would he portray them with the same degree of generosity and tolerance?
Al Ramrus
Pacific Palisades, California, U.S.

I was a student at Hebrew University in Jerusalem during and after the Munich massacre. Also, I remember in later years the accounts in Israeli newspapers of the Israelis involved in the sanctioned killings. Those were people who did not enjoy killing but who felt no particular guilt about what they were ordered to do. They understood that it was about justice, not revenge.
Rafael Guber
Los Angeles

In Time's interview with Spielberg, he said, "I cannot tell you how many people come over to me on the street and repeat almost verbatim the line the Martians say to Woody Allen in Stardust Memories: 'You know, we like your earlier, funnier films.'" It's no surprise that Spielberg quoted Allen; the two great filmmakers breathe the same ether. My living room is graced with two film posters, one for Spielberg's Schindler's List, the other for Allen's Shadows and Fog. I look at them to remind myself of the hope and magic that great directors can bring to an audience.
Regina Morin
San Diego

Showing Gays the Door
My thanks to Andrew Sullivan for his thoughtful essay, "The Vatican's New Stereotype," on the Roman Catholic Church's new rules barring gays from the priesthood [Dec. 12]. He expressed so well how I have been feeling — like an outsider in the church that was my home for 67 years. Although I have at times disagreed with church teachings, I have always felt like part of the fold. But the new exclusion cuts me to the core. I don't recognize Jesus in the new rules. It is more than a homosexual issue; it wounds my heart, which is aching on account of this hateful intolerance. By the way, I am a heterosexual mother of five children and grandmother of six.
Charline Kennedy
Orlando, Florida, U.S.

I am sorry about the Pope's rules excluding gay men from the priesthood. But they are not the first Catholics to be identified and told that "regardless of how they behave or what they do, they are beneath serving God" as priests. That distinction belongs to women.
Lynn Mostafa
Salinas, California, U.S.

Jesus befriended sinners and outcasts, but he never told them to continue sinning. He befriended an adulterous woman, then told her to sin no more — and repeated that pattern again and again. Since Sullivan is so quick to draw examples from the Bible, he should read up on the parts that specifically call homosexuality a sin instead of picking and choosing the parts that bolster his case.
Katie Hepburn
San Antonio, Texas, U.S.

Heed Reality in Iraq
Controversy over Iraq has dogged the Bush Administration since the war's onset [Dec. 12]. The dispute has provided capital for the Democrats, eroding the Administration's approval ratings and effectively killing its political agenda. But it's practically a sure thing that the opposition's strategy will backfire. The fact remains that Saddam Hussein was not a nice guy, and anything that led to his removal couldn't have been so bad. The big mistake was that the Administration did not have a plan for the war. The solution lies not in an immediate withdrawal or obstinate repetitions of "staying the course" but in acknowledging the situation on the ground, establishing goals and formulating a plan based on reality to achieve those goals. Partisan politics must be put aside and all consideration given to the troops risking their lives.
Uzor C. Ogbu
Rotterdam, the Netherlands

Keep Cool with Trees
In "Is Europe Due For A Big Chill?" [Dec. 12], Time mentions that climate experts have some reservations about the effects of global warming on weakening North Atlantic Ocean currents. I am surprised that they have not taken into account the speed of global deforestation. Warmer oceans absorb less atmospheric carbon dioxide, so we depend increasingly on the world's remaining vegetation to filter the air for us. Because vegetation is the only means by which carbon dioxide is converted into life-giving oxygen, we need to start seriously thinking more about controlling deforestation. We should establish a massive international reforestation program to reverse global warming.
Ian Vincent
Nairobi

Chinese Economic Might
Your cover illustration for the " Italy vs. China" stories [Dec. 5], on the trade competition between the two countries, showed them arm wrestling with equal muscle, but Italy is really no match for the Chinese giant. China is getting stronger and stronger and will soon move on to conquer the next country or continent. China wins with a simple, convenient formula: a communist social structure, a capitalist economy, small concern for trade rules and a furious rush. As an Italian politician said, If China had our union leaders, it would not survive for long.
Franco G. Sclano
Rome

Exit Strategy
No matter what happens in Iraq, it won't end the war on terrorism [Dec. 5]. We must stay the course in the 21st century, or there will be no 22nd. There is only one way to shorten this war: we must win. We must start thinking about universal service for our young folks. Citizenship simply requires that during wartime, one class of people not be allowed to pile up wealth and power while another makes the ultimate sacrifice of their lives.
(SGT) Milton Y. Keith
U.S.M.C.
St. Petersburg, Florida, U.S.

It makes no difference when the U.S. leaves Iraq. The genie has been let out of the bottle. The Bush Administration has ensured a supply of terrorists for the next 25 years, extinguished any chance for a secular Iraqi state, potentially destabilized the Middle East and presented the cost in lives, personal freedom and dollars to our grandchildren.
Michael L. Schneider
New Haven, Connecticut, U.S.