Dealing With Terrorism

* Re “Declare War on Sponsors of Terrorism,” Column Right, Aug. 4:

I must admit that I almost never agree with Bruce Herschensohn on anything. But this time I can at least sympathize with his feelings of frustration and anger. Would that we could eradicate terrorism by taking terrorist organizations’ “headquarters and training centers off the map.”

Unfortunately, I just don’t see how this is possible. I can’t recall any resistance or guerrilla movement ever being totally annihilated no matter how intense or vicious the reprisals of the dominant force.

Terrorism can only be eradicated by first securing worldwide cooperation and responsibility among all nations to seek out and bring to justice any and all perpetrators. Second, establish consensus that terrorists are to be thought of and treated as the cowards, murderers and outlaws to humanity that they are. And third, we must never give in to terrorist tactics. By demonstrating our resiliency to terrorist threats and attacks we will eventually and inevitably reduce acts of terrorism to total ineffectiveness in the arena of persuasion.

PAUL W. FULLER

Palm Desert

* I can’t help wondering which group of foreigners Herschensohn would have taken “off the map” in revenge for the Oklahoma City bombing. And later, when he learned that the bombing was most likely a domestic affair, I wonder what he would have said to justify his lynchings. Lastly, I wonder how much safer he would be from terrorism after having committed such an act.

OCTAVIA E. BUTLER

Pasadena

* David Grossman writes in “Beastly Life Under the Thumb of Terror” (Commentary, July 29) of the looming terrorist threat to America. The next day, Martin van Creveld (Commentary, July 30) describes modern armies as “dinosaurs,” because they are unprepared to deal with terrorism, which he calls “the main threat” to the U.S.

It is not hard to see why two residents of Israel think that terrorism will transform American life. After all, it has transformed Israeli life, and misery, as they say, loves company. But the United States is not Israel.

The threat of random political violence that every generation of Americans seems to rediscover is latent in any democracy. However, there is no reason to assume it will ruin our future any more than it has ruined our past. We lose more Americans in a month to traffic accidents than we have lost in the last decade to terrorists.

Terrorism is a psychological strategy. It works because of the hysteria it engenders--hysteria that would not spread as far or as fast without the active role of the mass media as purveyors of fear. So let’s get a grip. Terrorism is a serious problem, but it is nowhere near as imposing as some of the other challenges we face.

LOREN B. THOMPSON, Director

National Security Programs

Alexis de Tocqueville Institution

Arlington, Va.