For Vieques, 2 Years Is a Long Time
 

To the Editor:

 Does President Bush really imagine that protests will end because
he's declaring a halt to the military exercises and aerial bombings
on the Puerto Rican island of Vieques starting two years from now
(front page, June 15)?

 In two years' time, how many adults and children on the island
will develop cancer, scleroderma, lupus, thyroid deficiencies and
serious asthma? How much higher will the rate of unemployment go?
What about the continuing contamination of air, drinking water and
fish, as well as the continuing destruction of delicate ecosystems
of plant and animal life?

 If your children were among the 9,300 inhabitants of Vieques,
would you be willing to wait two years for the bombing to stop?

 The military exercises and aerial bombings must stop immediately.
Let the May 2003 deadline be for the Navy to decontaminate Vieques'
air, land and water, and to restore the island to its former
agricultural fertility.

PATRICIA LAY-DORSEY