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MAY 10, 2004
No Quick Fixes For Terrorism Just returning from an extended stay in Europe, I rifled through my back issues of BusinessWeek to find Bruce Nussbaum's commentary, "Fighting a new Cold War" (Cover Story, Mar. 29). It is a model of the probity and balance I expect from him. His views exactly mirror those of thoughtful friends I talked to across Europe: "Islamic fundamentalism opposes Western democracies not for what they do but for what they are." The unilateralism of the Bush Administration has alienated natural allies such as France, which has been fighting Islamic fundamentalism far longer than America has. The worldwide ideological struggle between the West and Islamist fundamentalism is not a battle but a war, and, like the Cold War, it will require a systemic strategy involving a balanced combination of military, political, and economic policies over a long period. No problem requires such treatment more urgently than the Israeli-Palestinian standoff, which deserves more weight that it gets in Nussbaum's assessment. This, more than any other single issue, engenders Islamist fury and European disaffection with America. Nothing better illustrates the conjunction of America and Israel in the European mind than a graffito seen all over Italy: "BUSHARON boia" (executioner). Arnold S. Wasserman San Francisco In "Fighting terror -- or spreading its seeds?" (Readers Report, Apr. 19 regarding "Fighting a new Cold War," Mar. 29), I was surprised by the reader who, living thousands of miles from Israel, tells us about the terror surrounding us. My comment is this: I feel much safer now than two years ago. This is because the fight against terrorism has to be a commitment, not mere lip service. If it is a commitment, it will succeed; and I see the results, no matter what TV shows. Aharon Rosenstein Givatayim, Israel Don't Make Outsourcing A Scapegoat For Western Woes In "India has turned info tech into a McJob" (Readers Report, Apr. 19, regarding "Ban outsourcing? Bad idea," Asian Business, Mar. 29), the letter begins: "How dare a country like India...." The official unemployment figures for India would amount to over 35% of the entire population of the U.S., and you don't see us whining. This despite unequal trade and protectionist tariffs in a world order that does not provide a level playing field for the developing world. Information technology and information technology enabled services (ITES) constitute just 3% of the Indian economy. The economy is not just about IT, even in the U.S. Government subsidies to the farm sector in Europe and America not only ensure that agrarian economies don't make inroads but encourage dumping of agricultural products into the developing world. Africa is a classic victim of this philosophy, but then Africa is a conveniently forgotten continent. The Indian IT industry is self-developed by the hard-working talent pool within India and not by any political support or patronage. It is part of the larger scientific community that has contributed immensely to the development of science and technology of some of the largest corporations in the U.S. for more than four decades. Indian enterprise in the U.S. participated in building startups in Silicon Valley. All this, over the years, has contributed to the IT movement in the U.S., helped the American economy in no uncertain terms, and definitely provided well-paying employment to the educated in this sector. It is easy to talk of closed economies when one does not realize that there are hundreds of millions of people who live on $2 a day or less in India alone. And when these people consume a Coke (KO ) or a Pepsi (PEP ), it constitutes nearly 10% of their daily wage -- healthy profits that find their way to U.S. shareholders for the betterment of their economy and lifestyles. N. S. Bhaskar Bombay Consider the fundamentals of the outsourcing phenomenon: U.S. corporations have always been proactive in seeking new ways to maximize profits. In the 1980s and 1990s, they realized that there were great opportunities in foreign markets. So they took up their cause, branding it "globalization," and set out to dominate emerging economies. In essence, all these corporations outsourced the "demand" for American goods and services to countries such as India. Today, these same corporations are simply continuing their strategy of profit maximization by outsourcing the supply of their products. So they send out IT services, customer service, and back-office processing to those countries where it is more economical. I find it unfair that tacit proponents of outsourcing in the '80s -- American workers -- are the most vehement critics of it now. Saravanan Govindan Singapore 
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