NATO Mistake

* Knowing that the embassies of non-involved nations exist in Belgrade, doesn’t it seem incredibly stupid of NATO and the U.S. government to have depended upon old maps or intelligence information rather than simply going through diplomatic channels to confirm the locations of such embassies? Incredibly, unbelievably stupid.

WILLIAM G. FAWCETT

Tujunga

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Part of NATO’s 50th anniversary celebration includes a name change. NATO will now be know as TGTCSS (The Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight).

PAUL D. BLUMSTEIN

Rancho Palos Verdes

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Re “Why Russians Are Indignant Over Kosovo,” Commentary, May 7: I am sorry to read that the Russian people can twist realities and history to their benefit blindly. Russians helped Serbia throughout history, since they could use the Serbian people as a tool to expand their sphere of influence and as a tool to dismantle the Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian powers. While doing so they sowed a lot of the seeds which cause the problems of today.

Russians themselves are very experienced in ethnic cleansing, starting from the 16th century with Ivan the Terrible to Stalin’s time and later. They played a significant role in causing the recent Armenian-Azerbaijan, Abkhaz-Georgian and Moldova conflicts, which generated the refugees this article talks about.

YILMAZ DENIZ

La Habra