To the Editor:
Re “Cease-Fire Called After Tense Day Threatening Iran” (front page, April 8):
Once again the world breathes a sigh of relief as President Trump’s war performance is postponed for two weeks. But we are not safer. We are not richer, and we have gained no wisdom from the president’s constant and escalating threats.
The world and our country are angrier and more divided than we were just six weeks ago. We have rightly worried about our democracy’s health as the president and his Republican allies have chipped away at our voting rights.
We are no longer that “shining city upon a hill” that Ronald Reagan called us as he described American exceptionalism. We are a pariah country whose president posts about destroying a civilization. The loss of democracy is a worry. The loss of world leadership is a fact.
Mr. Trump’s successor, and there will be one, will have a nearly impossible job of rebuilding our alliances and regaining trust. He or she will need to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and rebuild a stronger economy. We will need to shrink our widening income inequality.
Mr. Trump started this term by taking down our institutions slowly, then recently accelerating the damage. His friends in Congress have sat this term out. In our 250th year, we must sweep them out and start again.
Elliott Miller Bala Cynwyd, Pa.
To the Editor:
Here’s what President Trump achieved:
The Strait of Hormuz was open before the war without tolls. It is open again, but with tolls that will enrich the government of Iran.
Iran had nuclear bomb material before the war and still has it.
American military suppliers were rolling in taxpayer money before, and now they have a lot more taxpayer money.
Mitchell Zuckerman Katonah, N.Y.
To the Editor:
President Trump’s foolish foray into Iran, with the presumed goal of eliminating its ability to develop nuclear weapons, among other objectives, has had no success whatsoever. Indeed, it has only emboldened Iran and given it power over global energy that it might not have fully appreciated before Mr. Trump’s ill-considered war.
In addition, regime change hasn’t happened, and that appears to have encouraged hard-liners to increase control and repression over Iran’s citizens.
Mr. Trump’s inability to plan and consider the repercussions has cemented his place as the worst president in history.
Susan Levy Greenville, S.C.
To the Editor:
Re “How Trump Took the U.S. to War With Iran” (front page, April 8):
What is striking here is not so much President Trump’s decision making but the fact that there were voices, if not in outright opposition, that at least warned of pitfalls: concerns regarding the Strait of Hormuz and the lunacy of contemplating regime change or an Iranian uprising as reasonable results of an American-Israeli attack.
Not that anyone stood up and told the president not to move forward, but that someone like the much (rightly) maligned vice president, JD Vance, would not merely rubber-stamp Mr. Trump’s contemplations, no matter how unrealistic or destructive.
Mr. Trump has proved himself over and over to be unhinged and impulsive. He seemingly demonstrates a staggering lack of concern over educating himself on the pros and cons on critical matters, reaching a conclusion and filling in the blanks only after.
It is somewhat eye-opening to learn that there are still those from whom he seeks input before he leaps — even if ultimately it is only window dressing.
Robert S. Nussbaum Fort Lee, N.J.
Betting on Matters of Life and Death
To the Editor:
Re “The Casino That’s Eating the World,” by David Wallace-Wells (Opinion, March 29):
Mr. Wallace-Wells highlights the extent to which gambling has pervaded our culture and makes a powerful case for how the prediction market, in particular, is proving to be a corrosive force by treating matters of serious, potentially life-altering impact as items to be bet upon. But while his diagnosis of the problem is on the money (pun intended), he fails to offer a solution.
The call to ban so-called insider betting, which gives advantages to those with nonpublic knowledge of a situation or event, is a good start. But what is really needed is a broader ethical regulation: a complete ban on bets pertaining to matters having to do with war and peace and life or death.
There is no social utility whatsoever to such bets. They are instead motivated by the desire for personal enrichment and gratification. That may be fine in the case of sports betting, where we are dealing with entertainment and games, but it is entirely inappropriate and unacceptable when what is at stake can make a difference in whether people live or die.
Richard Stopol New York
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