Letters.

Stolen Treasure?

The fact that the Ottoman Empire conquered Greece did not give the Ottoman Empire title to the Greek antiquities, specifically the Elgin Marbles ("The Week," Dec. 20). By giving or selling the Elgin Marbles to Lord Elgin, the Ottomans essentially stole the treasures from Greece. A person who takes from a thief is required to return the goods to the rightful owner. A person who knowingly receives stolen goods is an accomplice to the theft.

The Israelis defeated the Jordanians in the Six-Day War. Do you think it would be permissible for the Israelis to sell the Dome of the Rock to a wealthy investor? I doubt the Muslims would think so.

Neil O'Brien

Dallas, Tex.

Back to Seattle

Ramesh Ponnuru doesn't seem to understand the stakes that drive the international trade rivalry that collapsed the World Trade Organization's "millennium round" ("After Seattle," Dec. 31). For example, he claims America's anti-dumping laws are aimed at the poor in the Third World. While Third World regimes do oppose U.S. law, the main assault was mounted by Japan and supported by Europe.

Anti-dumping laws are vital because markets do not work in the simplistic fashion Mr. Ponnuru believes. For example, the Asian economic crisis was the result of deregulation that allowed massive private borrowing to finance overcapacity. The market is supposed to liquidate such bad investments. Instead, troubled firms resorted to dumping to drive their rivals out of business. This "beggar-thy-neighbor" policy was backed by government subsidies to salvage strategic local industry. Eliminating our anti-dumping laws would disarm us in the face of such predatory attempts to shift the burden of failure from overseas to American soil.

The Clinton administration has not adequately used our laws, because it holds to the paternalistic concept of self-sacrificing hegemony. In this liberal doctrine, the U.S. should assume the costs of failures overseas, even if it means major sectors of American industry suffer. Yet, the lopsided, non-reciprocal demands made on the U.S. in Seattle, from every corner of the globe, were beyond what even Clinton thought he could spin to the American public. While Clinton didn't really make "Seattle his Reykjavik," as William Safire has written, he had to walk away.

This is not an academic exercise. International economics is ultimately about the global balance of power, which depends to a large degree on industrial and financial strength. As in other arenas of conflict, national authorities must act to protect our long-term interests.

William R. Hawkins

Washington, D.C.

RAMESH PONNURU RESPONDS: When foreign governments subsidize exports to the United States, they are effectively transferring wealth from themselves to American consumers. It is as irrational for us to worry about this transfer as it is for them to engage in it. Nevertheless, we slap countervailing duties on many subsidized products. The anti-dumping laws, which are routinely deployed against foreign companies that receive no subsidies at all, have nothing to do with this issue.

Must it End?

George F. Will writes accurately of the important contributions made by Mr. Buckley on Firing Line for the past 30 years ("A Farewell to Firing Line," Dec. 31). He correctly observes that both will be missed. Finally, Mr. Will reveals that his one appearance on Firing Line was his most enjoyable experience on television. Mr. Buckley is irreplaceable. But it would be great fun for Mr. Will and the dedicated viewers if he would give it a try.

Lee U. McGrath

Minneapolis, Minn.