Law of the Sea.(Letters To The Editor)(Letter to the Editor)

I could not agree more with your article, "Sink the Law of the Sea Treaty!" (March 7), except for one glaring error.

In the article, William Norman Grigg wrote, "When LOST was completed in 1982, the Reagan administration, confronted with insurmountable opposition in the Senate, refused to sign the agreement." It is true that President Reagan refused to sign the agreement, but it is simply incorrect to state that it was because of "insurmountable opposition in the Senate."

In his biography of Reagan, Dinesh D'Souza explained what really happened. Alexander Haig, the Secretary of State, asked Reagan to approve continuing negotiations for the Law of the Sea Treaty. D'Souza wrote, "Reagan said he would not support the treaty and asked that negotiations be suspended. Incredulous at what he took to be the president's naive and reflexive opposition, Haig tried to make him see the light by pointing out that discussions had been going on for years and that every recent president and virtually all leading figures in both parties accepted the general framework of the treaty."

Reagan responded, "Well, yes, but you see, Al, that's what the last election was all about."

That was the end of it. The Law of the Sea Treaty was never considered by Reagan, not because of "insurmountable opposition in the Senate," but rather because Reagan opposed the treaty. We should be grateful to Reagan on this issue. Had he chosen to support LOST, then we very well may have had this ...