Lifting restrictions on U.S. arms exports and military aid in the name
of fighting terrorism [front page, Sept. 24] is a bad idea that surely
would come back to haunt Americans. Past arms exports to governments and
non-state actors in Panama, Haiti, Somalia, Iraq, Iran and especially
Afghanistan have all turned into U.S. security threats. A renewed flow of
arms to disreputable states or rebel groups, even in support of a worthy
cause, probably would not be any different.
Controls on U.S. weapons exports and military aid are designed to
ensure that the U.S. government does not support countries or groups that
fundamentally oppose U.S. values and interests. According to draft
legislation sent to Congress last week, President Bush would dismiss not
only a country's human rights record but also its history of cooperation
in fighting terrorism. If Congress gives the administration free rein to
arm whomever it sees fit, it will hand a big victory to terrorists, who
will be pleased to see the United States toss aside its most cherished
principles and put in danger its own security.
TAMAR GABELNICK
Washington
The writer is director of the Arms Sales Monitoring Project of the
Federation of American Scientists.
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