MAIL CALL

There is no particular north- south pattern of development differences in Greece. In fact, the region northwest of the Gulf of Corinth, relatively isolated from the more prosperous eastern mainland by the Pindus mountain range, is, if anything, less developed than the Peloponnesian peninsula and more likely to benefit economically from the improvement in transport communications owed to the Rio-Antirrio bridge. And by the way, this is not the Corinth bridge, which is the one over the Corinth canal, some 120 kilometers to the southeast. So I would suggest that your argument, that the noninclusion of a rail line in the project is likely to condemn the "stubbornly underdeveloped" Peloponnesus to remaining so, is a bungled one. Further, while it is true that the bridge is still incomplete (as the caption to a six-month-old photograph says), it would have been preferable to say that it is going to be open to traffic three months ahead of schedule. That way you would have avoided misleading your readers.
Haris Argyropoulos
Athens, Greece

The Price of Princely Arrogance

Misreading the headline of Fareed Zakaria's "The Price of Arrogance" (May 17) as "The Prince of Arrogance," I first thought it meant George W. Bush, then Dick Cheney, then Donald Rumsfeld. After reading Zakaria's accurate, sadly fantastic essay, I reflected upon the price we are paying for this triumvirate of princely arrogance. As an American living abroad, I can attest to Zakaria's comment about "the creation of a poisonous atmosphere of anti-Americanism" around the world. America is largely perceived as an international outlaw here in Europe in spite of its myriad good intentions. George Bush is often portrayed as a gunslinging Texas cowboy; his administration adopts the role of protective posse. Bush may believe he is the one wearing the white hat, promoting God's gift to humanity (otherwise known as democracy), but Europeans are not so sure. They mistrust his motives, they are disturbed by the blanket mandate justified by 9/11 and they can spot double standards as easily as they can find those abhorrent Abu Ghraib photos on the Net.
D. J. Fosbenner
via internet