European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 16, 1980, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 12 the stars and stripes John p. Roche monday june 16, 1980 sex attorney general Clark s guilt trip to Tehran i Hal Ramsey . George Wald. And an entourage of idealistic american mullahs were off to Tehran. I was certain they were planning to protest the Savage denial of due process to ene Mies of the activities of revolution Ary courts headed by the Law and order Ayatollah Khalkhali. Have not received the attention they Merit. Hardly a Day passes without the firing squad or the Hangman disposing of druggies homosexuals adulterers and other assorted anti social elements. Included among the latter was Farrokh Rou Parsa. Inc Only woman in the former Cabinet and the first woman member of Iran s parliament. She served As education minister in the Shah s regime. One thing the Imam. Ayatollah Khomeini will hold against the former Shah until the end of time w As the emancipation of women but it was extremely Nasty to take his revenge on this lady who was never known to Lake a Savak agent to lunch. However she was a Symbol and she War shot by a firing squad. However this was a classic guilt trip not an inquest into civil liberties in theocratic Iran. For reasons Best left to a psychiatrist Ramsey Clark has been into Guill Ever since he left office As attorney general. He should have Felt guilty Over his Lack of supervision of the operations against anti War and racial dissidents. Some surveillance was obviously in order there were some dangerous characters in that coalition but Clark simply turned it Over to Warren Christopher his Deputy. Christopher in turn created the interdepartmental intelligence unit Idiu. A Small staff which prepared a weekly summary of possible flashpoints. All agencies in the government had been asked to provide information. Some colonel in counter intelligence stashed away in the bowels of the Pentagon Learned of the Idiu and the idiocy began. Counter intelligence naturally interested in promoting its budget and officers went on red Alert they started bugging Trees at Anli War meetings and similar Marx Broth ers Capers. Joe Califano and i met with the Idiu people at the White House they were serious citizens and they began complaining they were flooded with junk from the army. I spoke to Clark about it Drew Middleton i we cow own uni me pm i m sure Joe called him too and he said he would take a look at the Idiu situation. Whether he braced Christopher on it i Don t know All i know is when i left the White House in the fall of 1968 the Idiu people were still complaining. Army go acc was overloading their circuits with loony memos. If Ramsey had Felt guilt for this Malver station he would have my sympathy. How Ever he apparently dropped his responsibility for the Idiu into a psychic Black Hole. A year or so later i gave a speech at nearby Regis College and was asked about the tree bugging. I said to my questioner who was a local journalist to ask Ramsey Clark about it he had been in charge and was speaking the next Day at Brandeis. Clark held a news conference the reporter quoted my statement and the sainted Ramsey said it was a dirty lie if Ramsey feels guilty for calling me a liar he is on Safe ground. But his Tehran performance indicates he is not just into guilt but into cosmic guilt. He feels guilty on behalf of the whole american people dead living and yet unborn for the obscene crimes we committed on the iranians. This is part of an exercise in hubris that never ceases to amaze the Assumption that not a Sparrow fell for a Quarter of a Century without the Connivance of the United slates. There May be an arrogance of Power but it is equalled if not surpassed by an arrogance of flagellation. Actually As the activities of the Law and order revolutionary courts indicate Irani ans arc quite capable of committing obscene crimes on each other. I take a dim View of cat mites but the firing squad does seem undeserved As retribution for Homo sexual acrobatics. And even Savak never hanged prostitutes or shot adulterers. Yet the Clark Mission seems to have overlooked this Side of the new regime perhaps be cause it can t be blamed on the United states. Some nuts want to jail the Clark Mission a martyrdom they would embrace. Forget it leave them to Luxuriate in their guilty. Concentrate on treating iranian Stu dents in the . With compassion. C King features Syndicate. The opinions expressed in me columns and car Toons on this Pege represent Shote cart the author and Are in no was to be considered at representing the views of the stars and stripes or the United stale government. Soviet army in Afghanistan faces Challenge the soviet occupation of Afghanistan is apparently moving into a critical phase in both military and political Fields. There arc reports that soviet forces arc encountering difficulties in conducting sweeps of the Countryside by helicopter borne infantry because of the effect of summer heat and Altitude on aircraft. Such operations arc regarded by american analysts As essential to Success. In most areas the russians remain Road bound moving from Village to Village by armoured personnel carriers and trucks Over roads that in Many cases have been torn up by the rebels. There is no Independent evidence . Sources said of reports that the afghan insurgents have massed 20,000 or More tribesmen around Kabul. To do so they pointed out would invite instant attack by soviet aircraft. President Babrak Karmal. Installed by the soviet Union last december is reported to be a virtual prisoner in his capital surrounded by soviet advisers and having Little Contact with the people. He also is under Sharp attack from opponents in his people s democratic party. The afghan Economy far from robust is plagued by strikes instigated by the rebels. Officials in Washington and London Point out that de spite these difficulties the Overall soviet strategic position can be seen in balance Only against inc background of other soviet actions in Southwest Asia and in the Indian Ocean. The soviet Union is apparently taking Steps to tighten its hold on Afghanistan s government. Some sources be Lieve this will mean the ouster of Karmal. Others expect increased Prev sure on the afghans for cooperation Between inc Karmal government and party and the occupying forces Tass the soviet press Agency reported that Mai. Gen. Got aka chief of the political directorate of the Afghani Stan army had met in Moscow with marshal Nikolai v. Garkoy first Deputy defense minister and Gen. Aleksci a. Pc Mishev chief political officer of the soviet armed forces. They discussed according to Tass questions of further consolidation of close cooperation Between the armies. The soviet approaches to the government have aroused concern in Britain. This was expressed in a recent letter from Douglas kurd minister of state in the foreign and Commonwealth office to a constituent. Analysts emphasize thai these potential soviet military and political gains should be weighed against their present problems in Afghanistan. There is evidence there that the soviet army now has accepted he Prospect of a Long and grueling pacification Campaign. The dependents of most soviet nonmilitary technical personnel have been sent Home and czechoslovak and so Viet technical advisers have been withdrawn from prov inces where according loan authoritative British source Security is particularly bad. Soviet military activity in the last 10 Days has been on a reduced scale analysis insisted despite highly coloured re ports of mass afghan operations emanating from new Delhi. Soviet operations have been confined to bombing villages and Kabul suburbs where insurgents have been spotted or where soviet soldiers and Loyal afghan officials have been murdered. There has been no heavy fighting in the suburbs of Kabul. Soviet infantry did carry out sweeps through seve ral of inc suburbs closer to the capital and the movement of All vehicles into Kabul was halted temporarily. The russians also have reinforced their forces in Kabul and the surrounding area raising the total to about 30,000 men the equivalent of three divisions and roughly 37 percent of the ground Force in the country. Many of the troops in and around Kabul arc administrative and communications units. Serious fighting at the moment appears to be confined to the area around Raghman 22 Miles Northwest of Kabul and the site of the old summer capital. Insurgents Are reported to be in defensive positions in the Raghman Cara Kar mountains. Increased insurgent activity also has been reported by authoritative sources in the mountainous province of a Man West of Kabul and in parian province to the North. The soviet military position basically May be better than it is pictured in reports from new Delhi and Islamabad. Although the army has been unable to carry out the Light infantry sweeps that Are regarded As the key to pacification of the provinces it is in no danger of losing any of its key ground positions or airfields to the insurgents. The rebels continue to be handicapped by a Lack of modern weapons and absence of operational Unity. Many rebels one official reported would rather be fighting each other than the soviet forces. The modern weapons they possess arc few in number and have been captured from the Sovil or afghan army forces. Once their ammunition has been fired the weapons Are useless. Resistance also has suffered from the movement into Pakistan of at least 750.000 to 800.000 refugees Ameri can and British sources said. Had the refugees remained in their villages it was a Inshasi de. Inc insurgents would have had a More solid logistical base for their guerrilla activities
