U.S. Intervention in the Baltics

Your editorial “Asking for Peace at Any Price” (Jan. 8) is one of many inflammatory and war-instigating editorials published by The Times since November, 1991.

Besides the usual Serb-bashing, the editorial assails a distinguished U.S. diplomat, Cyrus Vance, now a special U.N. envoy to the Balkans, for brokering the peace in Croatia and for applying his expertise and energy to achieve the same in Bosnia. This slander of Vance’s abilities and dedication to a just cause is a part of the ruthless campaign where peace is unacceptable, unless it comes after Serbs, allegedly aggressors, rapists and executioners of an “ethnic cleansing,” are on their knees.

The “big stick” policy, or threat to use military force, is what your editorials are offering as the only way of dealing with worldwide crises involving nations that have their own vision of their future. Accordingly, nationalism is appropriate, and even praiseworthy, for some nations, or even religious groups, but absolutely out of question for some others--Russia and Serbia being on the top of this list.

ALEXANDER YAHONTOV

Researcher, Serbian-American

Community Relations Coalition, L.A.