September 10, 2004

Learning From Our Violent Past How to Prevent Future Genocides

To the Editor:

Roger W. Smith's "American Self-Interest and the Response to Genocide" (The Chronicle Review, July 30) is thoughtful, thorough, and accessible. It helped me to understand the global scope of genocide and the reasons for its recurrence, as well as the abysmal record of the United States in supporting, directly or indirectly, genocides in the 20th century. I fully support Professor Smith's idea of an early-warning system and coordination between states and