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␈↓ ↓H␈↓␈↓βS␈↓∧ Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, STANFORD UNIVERSITY, Stanford, California 94305

␈↓ ↓H␈↓∧Telephone 415 497-4430␈↓ 
⊃April 13, 1977 




␈↓ ↓H␈↓Editor:
␈↓ ↓H␈↓␈↓↓New York Times␈↓
␈↓ ↓H␈↓229 West 43d St.
␈↓ ↓H␈↓N.Y. 10036

␈↓ ↓H␈↓To the Editor:

␈↓ ↓H␈↓        If␈α
a␈α∞newspaper,␈α
angry␈α
over␈α∞the␈α
Soviet␈α∞repressions␈α
in␈α
Hungary␈α∞or␈α
Czechoslovakia,␈α∞were␈α
to
␈↓ ↓H␈↓refer␈αto␈α"that␈αnation's␈αbloody␈αday␈αof␈αreckoning",␈αI␈αimagine␈αthe␈α␈↓↓Times␈↓␈αwould␈αsuggest␈αthey␈αcool␈αo≥.
␈↓ ↓H␈↓Punishing␈αthe␈αaggressors,␈αas␈αmany␈αfeel␈αthey␈αdeserve,␈αis␈αimpractical␈αin␈αthis␈αnuclear␈αage.␈α The␈αsame
␈↓ ↓H␈↓considerations␈αapply␈α
to␈αthe␈α␈↓↓Times␈↓␈α
April␈α12␈αeditorial␈α
about␈αSouth␈αAfrica.␈α
 No␈αnation␈αof␈α
even␈αthe
␈↓ ↓H␈↓strength␈α∞of␈α∞South␈α∞Africa␈α∞can␈α∞be␈α∞brought␈α∞to␈α∂a␈α∞bloody␈α∞day␈α∞of␈α∞reckoning␈α∞without␈α∞it␈α∞also␈α∂being␈α∞a
␈↓ ↓H␈↓radio-active␈αday␈α
of␈αreckoning.␈α
 A␈αvictory-or-death␈α
crusade␈αagainst␈α
South␈αAfrica␈α
leading␈αto␈α
nuclear
␈↓ ↓H␈↓war␈α⊂is␈α∂all␈α⊂too␈α⊂likely␈α∂in␈α⊂this␈α⊂psychologically␈α∂pre-war␈α⊂era␈α⊂even␈α∂without␈α⊂encouragement␈α⊂from␈α∂the
␈↓ ↓H␈↓␈↓↓Times␈↓.

␈↓ ↓H␈↓        Wouldn't␈αit␈αbe␈αbetter␈αto␈αlook␈αfor␈αa␈αsolution␈αthat,␈αwhile␈αnot␈αjust␈αfrom␈αany␈αpoint␈αof␈αview,␈αwill
␈↓ ↓H␈↓be␈α∞preferred␈α
by␈α∞both␈α∞sides␈α
to␈α∞such␈α∞a␈α
war?␈α∞ Unless␈α
there␈α∞is␈α∞more␈α
time␈α∞for␈α∞gradual␈α
improvement
␈↓ ↓H␈↓than␈αanyone␈αthinks␈αlikely,␈αthe␈αsolution␈αmust␈αbe␈αpartition.␈α    The␈αblacks␈αmust␈αget␈αenough␈αso␈αthey
␈↓ ↓H␈↓will prefer partition to war, and so must the whites.  Is there any other solution?


␈↓ ↓H␈↓Sincerely,



␈↓ ↓H␈↓John McCarthy
␈↓ ↓H␈↓Director
␈↓ ↓H␈↓Professor of Computer Science