‘SDI Makes Moral Sense’

Impressed by what could possibly pass for erudition, I was halfway through Coffey’s article before it occurred to me that he wasn’t writing with a full deck.

I should have been tipped off by the headline, “SDI Makes Moral Sense, Too.” But that sentiment slipped by me in my eagerness to understand “just-war principles.”

What I learned instead is how skilled Coffey is with semantics. Citing Catholic bishops, a Jesuit theologian, and Winston Churchill, this Defense Department employee merely delivers a sales pitch.

He omits the cost, in human terms, of “Star Wars” and writes off its unfeasibility as the verdict of critics instead of the findings of the experts.

It is morally irresponsible--madness--to “philosophize” about the destruction of our planet. Coffey’s “less destructive” is Pentagonese for more money spent on arms.

SYDNY PAUL

Capistrano Beach