European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 08, 1980, Darmstadt, Hesse William Safire sunday june 8, 1980 the stars and stripes Page 15 some questions listed for Iran raid panellists harangues in this space Ami else where calling for an official inquiry into the reasons for the failure of inc Mission to Rescue inc american hostages in Iran have been answered in pan by the appoint ment of a Pentagon commission headed by a retired old Salt adm. James Holloway cd. The Holloway commission will limit its study to shortcomings in planning and Hopes to Tell inc joint chiefs that All concerned did a grand Job but that next time somebody should Check the weather and somebody else should order Crew chiefs not to Wash Down the choppers with Salt water just before a big Mission. High ranking offi cers arc not inclined to expose command weaknesses. The White House and Pentagon thus Hope their posteriors will be covered for posterity. A cover up May be awkward however because a secret congressional report has already concluded that major errors were made in the Mission s planning and execution. Some embarrassing questions 1. On the planning Why was the orig Inal Strong Force plan prepared last no vember scaled Down to a Light Force plan columns comments adopted in the Spring was this a military decision or was the first plan rejected by the White House was the military asked for a plan that would have repeated bail out Points along the Way As we know from British commando experience which was adopted by the israelis such a Mission requires a overwhelming Force at the Point of attack b unusual mechanical backup and c die Mission commander on the scene empowered to make decisions without intrusion from Headquarters. Did the White House de Mand operational command authority did the joint chiefs acquiesce in a presidential desire to approve personally each stage of the Mission in action did the president Sec any advantage in making a feint and then withdrawing was a change in plan from air Force helicopters to Navy helicopters made at a High level for other than operational Rea sons Why were Navy choppers used that received less than 20 percent of optimal flying time in the three months preceding the Mission 2. On the operation Why did the air Force colonel James Kyle who saw the dust storms from his c-130, and who had a radio not warn the Heli copter pilots on the ground at desert one when his secure radio broke Why did he use an old fashioned radio for communication with superiors in Egypt rather than borrow a radio from his army col league 3. On the decision to abort How unanimous was the recommendation was the Lack of a sixth helicopter the real reason to abandon the Mission was the president told the Mission was compromised in Teh ran did inc soviet Union know of unusual electronic traffic thai night and did we learn of unusual soviet radio traffic in response perhaps to Alert pilots did we interpret any soviet activity As an implicit warning what High level Contact was made by the while House to the Kremlin that night i have heard we initiated Contact with the soviets after the decision to abort probably because we were dying into Turkey and did not want to alarm the russians. Is this True or is the unlikely uglier Rumor True that we called off no Mission after the soviets sent us a message 4. On the Panicky Retreat after the president ordered the men to return was there undue Hasie in leaving a Rush that led to the blow up of inc refuelling helicopter Why were document on the abandoned helicopters describing Safe houses on the escape route which would surely in Criminate helpful iranians not destroyed before departure Why was col. Kyle s later plea to run some fighters Over to destroy the surviving Clos denied did the presi Dent participate in that Craven decision w hich May Nave Cost the lives of iranians who wanted to help us thai barely scratches inc surface of questions raised by Carter s tentative by Perc ulious Csc pc Hatch Laden foray into military Force. How much is the Pentagon to be blamed for a failure which subsequently caused our allies to question our capability and reduced the value of our deterrent How much blame is to be ascribed to a failure of nerve by the president of the United states one Man privy to the president s thinking cells me that a serious review of the Deci Sion making in this Case is under Way at the White House a National Security Council staffer denies it. Some of inc things the president did that Day cast great credit on him the first Man says. Some of the things do he adds that the immediate exposure of inc reasons for aborting the Mission would not be in the National interest and admits that it would certainly not be in the president s interest. Well learn the truth someday Unfer tuna Cly not in time to help voters decide whether Jimmy Carter is the Best Man to serve As commander in chief in a crisis. By York Tymel Mary Mcgrory roofs of Miami savagery run deep the violence in Miami had its Spe Cial horrors. The race riots of a decade ago familiarized us with the basics arson looting sniping and killing. But Miami had atrocities. The kind of savagery that occurred in the Congo when the Blacks fell on their colonial oppressors. The body of a White Man. One of two who had been beaten unconscious was run Over by a car three times while onlookers cheered. A White Man s Tongue was Cut out an car Cul off. The immediate cause of this violence was inc acquittal of four while Miami police officers who were accused last december of beating an unarmed Black Man named Arthur my Fluffie to death. The officers claimed he was resisting arrest and reported his death As a traffic Accident. The televised trial lasted 39 Days. An All White All male jury deliberated for three hours and returned a verdict of not guilty. The proceedings had been moved from Miami to Tampa. But the result was whal it has been for centuries in the South when Whites pass judgment on other Whites accused of crimes against Black men. The other roots of Black Miami s murder Ous rage arc deeper. They suffer High unemployment. Their main Contact with the while Community is through the police. The racial Harmony that had been achieved in other Southern cities Atlanta is the prime example was not pursued in Miami. A Black Man was brutally beaten when drug enforcement officers mistakenly raided his House. A Young Black girl was molested by a police officer in a patrol car. He was Given six months probation. And for the past month the Blacks have been watching the arrival of cuban Refu gees. Cubans make it in Miami. They own shops Homes businesses. They help one an other up the ladder. And. When they first land they take the mean jobs thai arc the Only ones an unskilled Black can expect to get. The Blacks saw the cubans made Wel come. In the ups and Downs of the Carter policy from open arms to raised fist and Back to conditional open arms the lacks could Sec one constant. The cubans were important to inc government. The authorities cared. For Miami s Black people the verdict in inc Mcduffin Case reaffirmed what they had been told All along you Are Black you Don t matter. Justice is for White men. For them in was revisiting the conclusion reached by the Erncr commission 12 years ago. Our nation is moving toward two societies one Black one while Sepa rate and the verdict does not justify the violence any More than the verdict can be justified although in seems that prosecution Hap ices Ness rather than jury racism was the trouble. The attorney general rushed to Miami to say that he would bring civil rights charges against the officers to a fed eral grand jury. Black leaders rushed to Miami to talk to the infuriated inhabitants among the blaring buildings. They were shouted Down. The Blacks did t want to be talked to they wanted to be listened to. The riot May have inc effect on the coun try of a Sharp blow on the head. Because there has been peace for 12 years we thought the Lime of rioting was Over. Every one knows the Black unemployment Rale especially among teen agers is a danger and a scandal. Everyone knows that sum Mer is coming and idleness drugs and Dis Content make a highly inflammatory mix . But because nothing has happened for so Long Detroit which blew up in 1967. Is now so respectable in will be inc site of the Republican convention the government and inc people have chosen to ignore he danger signs. We have affirmative action do we not what happens in Tehran is of More con sequence to Jimmy Carter. He is preoccupied with Afghanistan. We must spend More for defense. We must defend ourselves against the soviets at the Cost of saving our cities. The budget committees of both houses of Congress arc meeting in conference. The House wants to Cul 200,000 minority sum Mer jobs. The Senate Only 50.000. The budget must be balanced you see. Miami has reminded us that inflation May nol be our worst Domestic problem. The restoration of minority jobs May have to be entered As a civil defense expenditure which it certainly is in Miami in order to pass. Was Miami with its abysmal history of police Community relations a unique Case or will the spark of rage jump to other a hellos just As crowded deprived and aggrieved the Blacks of Miami made a collective Savage judgment. Pistols knives rocks Pil Lage and murder Are inc Only Way to get attention the Mcduffin verdict told them that Justice is out of the question. The country has been warned. Riou can still happen. The message of Miami it blood curdling by Clear this Lime it s going to be much worse
