A selection of readers' views on "U.S. Navy 'Friendship Festival' draws line at the French" (Zeit Gist, Sept. 7) by Blair McBride:
The rejection of French visitors at military "open houses" may be due to several things. It may be a low level way of placing diplomatic pressure on the French for the expulsion of the Romany (Gypsies). There may have been a military alert about false French passports being used by radicals or even terrorists.
In either case, public explanations would likely not be given, due to either keeping the Romany issue below the public radar so as to allow great diplomatic latitude, or, in a military security alert involving French passports, protecting informants from being identified inadvertently.