Letters.(Letter to the Editor)

-- You owe Sen. Chuck Hagel -- a man with more combat experience than yoyour entire masthead combined -- a profound apology for the gratuitous and cheap designation ("R., France") you gave him in your Aug. 12 issue. While you deplore Sen. Hagel's ad hominem remarks about Richard Perle, Mr. Perle and his followers have branded all those who disagree with them "Chamberlainites" so often that your own John O'Sullivan was prompted to defend Mr. Chamberlain's record. If Mr. Perle can't stand the heat, he should get out of the kitchen.

Sen. Hagel's point, however, is not simply a personal insult. War is a savage teacher, as Thucydides tells us. In the words of that appeasement wimp, Robert Edouard Lee, "It is well that war is so terrible, or we should grow too fond of it." When nations decide to go to war, they should do so with a sober understanding of what they are doing. The excessive rhetoric of many pro-war partisans -- as in the Pentagon briefing Mr. Perle arranged by a former follower of Lyndon LaRouche, who named Egypt the "prize" of a general Mideast war -- suggests a cavalier attitude that has no place in this debate. Under these circumstances, it is appropriate to question what Mr. Perle knows of the horrors of war, and what sacrifices he personally is willing to make, and it is especially so for a combat veteran like Sen. Hagel.

Having been trapped in the dust cloud on 9/11, having witnessed the deaths of thousands (including friends), I would love to get my hands on Osama bin Laden and his gang. Show me proof that Saddam Hussein was involved in the plot, and I would not favor handing him over to any international criminal court. But we need proof, not speculation. If we go to war, let us do so with real, not Dutch, courage.

Paul Windels III

New York, N.Y.

-- The Editors Reply: The question of whether NR should apologize to ChChuck Hagel is fraught with difficulties and possible unintended consequences. Yes, Hagel's staff might initially cheer such an apology. ...