Silver lining in feds’ rejection of Silver Line

There is a silver lining to the federally declared death of the Dulles Rail project. If Fairfax County is serious about redeveloping Tysons Corner as a vibrant and vital city, there can be no alternative to Metrorail. But the planned elevated rail through Tysons Corner was a poor compromise with the Federal Transit Administration’s nearsighted cost-benefit rules. Going back to square one could drive the Metro underground, and this would be worth the wait.

An elevated train will deaden the streetscape around it. A tunnel will attract focused urban development. The benefits of such development — in jobs, in needed housing, in culture and commerce, in public revenue — have not been fully reckoned by FTA.

Starting over means getting Congress to recognize that the problem isn’t the project, but the accounting, and that going under (and not over) Tysons Corner is the only thing that makes sense.

Roger Cryan

Fairfax

Without additional power, we’ll be back to candles

Re: “Time to turn nuclear power back on,” editorial, Jan. 31

The late Francis L. Brannigan said it best back in the 1960s: “If we don’t start generating more electricity with nuclear power, we’ll have to watch television by candlelight because there won’t be enough power to operate both at the same time.”

Stu Newman

Bowie

Even Egyptians reject Palestinian troublemakers

For the past 60 years, ever since Palestinian Arabs decided to leave Israel during the 1948 war to destroy that nation, they have been rejected by their fellow Arabs. Israel welcomed one million penniless Arab Jews driven out of lands where they had lived for millennia, but Arab countries viewed a lesser number of their own Arab brethren as unwelcome.

The current influx — and now rejection — of Gazan Arabs flowing into Egypt is only the latest example of the inhospitality of Arab toward Arab. Egypt’s response also reflects the known troublemaking ability of Palestinians in foreign lands.

Nelson Marans

Silver Spring

Only one line about Darfur in State of the Union speech?

Hundreds of callers, including me, phoned the White House on the day of the State of the Union address to urge President Bush to address the genocide in Darfur. And that he did, with a perfunctory one-liner proclaiming that he does not support genocide. I guess next time we should be more specific about what we want from our president.

Bush rarely, if ever, addresses the public on the specifics about what he plans to do about genocide in Sudan. This raises the question if the president actually sees Sudan as a top priority. I think it is pretty clear that he does not.

Tragically, our nation must wait until America’s King George leaves the White House before we can see a real commitment by the U.S. to ending the genocide.

Joshua Fischman

Washington

America is, hands down, the world’s best country

Re: “Bill Clinton outclasses George Bush 43 any day,” from readers, Jan. 31

Thanks, Mr. Nelson, for submitting the usual anti-Bush rhetoric. Clinton was better, Bush doesn’t know how to talk, blah, blah, blah. We’ve heard it all before. Go ahead and bash the Bushman if it makes you feel better. It doesn’t change anything.

Everyone is entitled to state their feelings publicly, which is part of what makes this country great. You write that while you are traveling in foreign countries, you are embarrassed to admit to that you are an American. If that’s the case, why not just stay there?

Who cares if “enlightened” foreigners talk down America? It’s nothing but player hating. Ours is the best country in the world. This is why so many people are trying to come here, legally or illegally. It is you who misses the forest for the trees.

Scott May

Arlington