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Readers write: Behind the Iran deal; Canada's short election cycle

Letters to the editor for the Nov. 9, 2015 weekly magazine.

Behind the Iran deal
Regarding the Oct. 19 cover story, “The Iran gambit”: Nothing against diplomacy, but the diplomatic approach with Iran must be leavened with a credible military threat, and no one any longer believes President Obama when he contends that the military option is still on the table.

Mr. Obama replaced conflict resolution with conflict management early in his attempt to come to grips with doomsday weaponry in the hands of Islamic true believers. The deal with Iran does not, as Obama says, keep Iran from developing nuclear weapons; it just delays that time for a decade or so.
Paul Bloustein
Cincinnati

Thank you to Andrew J. Bacevich for his Oct. 19 analysis, “The Iran gambit.” Finally, intelligent analysis instead of a rant.
Vici Oshiro
Burnsville, Minn.

Canada’s short election cycle
Regarding the Oct. 19 Briefing, “Canada’s election: N. American déjà vu?”: The Canadian national election for prime minister concluded with the election of Justin Trudeau to succeed Stephen Harper. Beyond the surprising results and the election issues, what is remarkable is that the campaign lasted for all of 78 days, which was far longer than many such Canadian campaigns.

But compare this with the duration of American presidential campaigns; the current one began months ago and will not end until November 2016. During that time, Americans will be subjected to endless and repetitive recitations of candidates’ qualifications (or lack thereof, depending on whom you ask) and their positions on the issues.

This results in millions of Americans tuning out and ignoring the candidates, which may partially explain the country’s abysmally low voter turnouts. The United States might consider following Canada’s example.
Stephen M. Arnold
McHenry, Ill.

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