Response to new McCarthyism.

• Position: Letters to the Editor

In "The New McCarthyism" (January issue), Matthew Rothschild may have left readers with an inaccurate impression of the mission and personnel of the United States Institute of Peace.

After the tragic events of September 11, the Institute's president, Richard Solomon, and its chairman, Chester Crocker, said in a joint statement that the United States response "must be measured, political, systematic, and long-term in character." They said: "Our national challenge is to understand the causes and dynamics of these events and to creatively rethink more effective ways to deal with international conflict and approaches to ensuring our security in the still-violent world of the twenty-first century."

That, too, is the role of the U.S. Institute of Peace. We have worked, and will continue to work, to better understand the cultural and social issues that lead to such violence, and to find ways to resolve conflict and reduce tensions peacefully. And, we will continue to make our findings and recommendations available to policy-makers, both in the United States and abroad, and to the...