Regarding "Release a gesture to heal ties" (Thursday Page A13), in an effort to "improve their tattered relationship with the United States", Venezuela released US film maker Tim Tracy after holding him for a month as a spy.
What is up with taking US citizens as hostages anyway? Two weeks ago, the Chronicle reported that Mexico tried to frame an Arizona mother of seven for drug smuggling and threw her in prison. In recent months, there have been similar stories of Americans kidnapped by North Korea, China and Iran on trumped up charges. It's one thing for Al Qaeda or Somali pirates to kidnap American innocents for ransom; it's something else entirely when sovereign states - including major trade partners like Venezuela and China - do the same thing.
The fact that Venezuela was allowed to portray the release of Tracy as some kind of magnanimous gesture on their part speaks worlds about the universal disrespect of the US amongst nations. Teddy Roosevelt famously advised that in matters of foreign policy, America should "speak softly, and carry a big stick." Methinks it's time for less talk, and more Stick.
Pete Smith
Cypress
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