NATO Expansion Justified

To the editors:

In response to Dan Epstein's "Foggy Thinking in Foggy Bottom" (Opinion, Oct. 23): The efforts of the United States and its NATO allies in inviting three crucial Eastern European nations to join the alliance can scarcely be compared to Nazism. Nothing could be further from the truth. It is crucial that we take steps now to strengthen European security and not abandon our democratic allies so these nations do not succumb to larger powers, as they did before and during World War II. Had the United States taken the kind of the steps it is taking now in, say, 1930, the Second World War and the rise of Nazism might have never taken place!

I was also surprised at your limited take on international terrorism. The United States was completely justified in bombing terrorist targets in Afghanistan and Sudan, since these nations do indeed have a highly developed military-industrial complex which supports the spread of terror. Do several well-organized camps supplied by international trade routes and backed up by billions of dollars not fit into a definition of "highly developed"?

Lastly, I laughed out loud when you claimed that the Russian people "won" the Cold War by utilizing "Marxist theory." If anything, they were victims of it. By risking their lives during the protests against the Communist coup members, the Russian people were rejecting Marxism in practice. They were tired of religious oppression, of the arrogant, elitist Communist party and of the specter of the return of Stalinism.

Economics is not the sole driving force behind the foreign and domestic policies of this nation or any other. A variety of factors contribute, including history, politics, demographics and yes, economics. I could go on and on criticizing this rather narrow view of world affairs, hoping that others might agree, but I think that once you compared the United States to Nazi Germany, you scuttled your own ship. DANIEL B. KURZ   Roxbury, N.J., Oct. 23, 1998