Sir: I'm finally hooked by the Battle of Tonkin/Pilger —
a form of diplomatic soap. One week I carefully read what seems to be a very straightforward, pre- cisely worded, statement from Mr Tonkin Only to discover the next from Messrs Pilger and Munro that 'he still can't get it right about Cambodia'. I did not see Cambodia: The Betrayal but if Pilger/ Munro employed half the skill they have shown in their letters in extracting whatev- er meaning they want from any statement and, when making statements, so playing with words that they can never be pinned down to have said what you thought they said it must have been a masterpiece.
I was convinced that Robert Karniol (Letters, 11 May) had contradicted them, only to learn from Pilger/Munro (Letters, 18 May) that subtle play with the terms `Khmer Rouge' and 'Khmer guerrillas' allowed them to declare he supported them. Let's hope the two sides don't agree on a definition for 'terrorist' or the show could be over just when we are getting dependent on it.
George Thomas
17 Campden Hill Square, London W8
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