To the Editor:
In his Feb. 25 column, "Calling the Kettle Black," Nicholas D. Kristof puts his finger on a key obstacle to peace in the Mideast: the perception in Muslim countries that the United States applies a double standard to Israel and its neighbors.
The security fence is an important piece of that double standard, but nuclear weapons may be more important.
We look the other way when it comes to Israel's nuclear program (at least in public), while elsewhere in the region we take aggressive military and diplomatic steps to prevent development of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons.
This double standard destabilizes the Middle East and undermines the credibility of our efforts to limit these weapons.
Israel is the dominant conventional military force in the region, except for the United States itself. Retention of its nuclear option serves no legitimate strategic objective.
To achieve peace, we must apply a single standard prohibiting any Mideast state from possessing nuclear weapons, with no exceptions.
JAMES DABNEY MILLER
Washington, Feb. 25, 2004
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