Letters: Oct. 10, 1983

Doomed 747

To the Editors:

By refusing to admit their guilt in shooting down a commercial 747 jetliner [Sept. 19], the Soviets have once again passed up an opportunity to show the world that they can be gentlemen who want peace. Instead, they have made themselves out to be murderers.

Christian Dupuis Montreal

After spending years writing letters against nuclear weapons, I now realize that we must keep up with the Soviets in the arms race or they will annihilate us on the flimsiest excuse. Military strength is the only sensible strategy for the U.S.

Jean A. Robinson-Pownall Camillus, N. Y.

It took 269 lives to prove President Reagan right about the Soviet Union.

Eric Thuna Skokie, III.

Imagine the outcry if the U.S. shot down a Soviet-bloc airliner. There would be riots abroad and demands for damages. But when the Soviets do it, Europe shrugs and shuffles its feet.

John J. Marvel Hoyt Lakes, Minn.

The downing of an unarmed airliner by the U.S.S.R. emphasizes the degree of the Soviet paranoia and the folly of pur placing provocative first-strike Pershing and cruise missiles on its borders. A situation will be created involving nuclear weapons that will threaten millions of lives. Only by establishing better relations and easing tensions with the U.S.S.R. will we avoid more air tragedies and the ultimate catastrophe, World War III.

Phil Klein Syracuse

A paranoid nation, like a paranoid person, never admits to anything it is accused of. Instead, it defends and counterattacks in order to save face. If you want a country like the Soviet Union to accept responsibility, you have to assume it acted out of innocence. From the beginning, the U.S. should have said that it regarded the shooting down of KAL Flight 007 as an act the Soviets would never knowingly commit, that it was an unfortunate tragedy. This approach would have presented some chance of eliciting an apology and compensation. The line our Government took only fueled the Soviets' paranoia.

Henry T. Close Plantation, Fla.

It is a pity we cannot send governments to prison for murder.

David A. Colvin Santa Fe, Argentina

I agree that the Soviet attack on the Korean passenger jet was an atrocity. However, dumping vodka and painting over our red cars are ridiculous acts of protest. The shooting down of the plane was in part a result of the increased tensions between the Soviet Union and the U.S. If relations between the two nations improved, the weapons buildup and covert activities would diminish, thus lessening the chance for more of these tragic incidents.

Thomas Walker Arcata, Calif.

What is this hullabaloo about the borders of the Soviet Union being sacred? The U.S.S.R. applies a double standard on moral values: one for them and another for other countries. What should the Afghan say about the Soviets' violation of his sacred borders?

Marianne Ridge Kusnacht, Switzerland

Leathernecks in Lebanon

The presence of the Marines in Lebanon [Sept. 19] exacerbates the tensions there. The U.S. should remove its troops and let the factions settle their age-old scores. Peace might not ensue, but at least the dead will not include Americans.

Glenn DelGrosso Saratoga Springs, N. Y.