European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - April 25, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Friday april 25, 1986 the stars and stripes Page 11 Anil iari3erk readers air views on Nicaragua Aid to contras question if you had $100 million to spend to better your country and to keep it Safe from communism How would you spend it would you spend it on education the facts Are Over the last 10 years the Quality of the education system in the United states has deteriorated. About 11 percent of the population of the United states is functionally illiterate. Every year european schools Are getting farther ahead of Ameri can schools in terms of its education system. Would you spend $100 million on eco nomic and social Aid in 1986 millions of americans will go hungry. I am not Only referring to the poor who live in the inner cities but also to the people of Appalachia. If one Dollar can feed a family of four in Ethiopia think How Many $100 million would feed in our country. And what of our nation s Farmers who because of their own proficiency will lose their farms because higher yields create lower prices which in turn cause the Farmer to lose Money and in the Long run his prop erty. Would t $100 million in farm subsidies help the american Farmer or would you spend $100 million on the contras in Nicaragua to help Stop the spread of communism in the Western hemisphere that is How president Reagan wants to spend $100 million. He would rather try to help a few thou Sand so called Freedom fighters i write so called because of reports of atrocities committed by the contras against other nicaraguans than help millions who suf european edition capt Dale k. Patterson us editor in chief cmdr Jeffrey s. Zakem us Deputy editor in chief . Blackwell m. Proctor . Mcdermott production manager managing de. Circulation manager this newspaper is an authorized unofficial publication for members of the military services overseas. 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I have offered Only a few answers to the question raised at the beginning of this letter but there Are Many other ways to use $100 million to make our country a better safer place to live without spend ing it on someone else. Name withheld Heilbronn Germany after 160 years of Independence from Spain Nicaragua has experienced a Revo Lution to Correct the injustices of wealth foreign and Domestic that had corrupted the economic and political life of the nation. The peasants indians and workers have seen conservative Liberal and military re Gimes come and go equally corrupt but their poverty continued and the wealthy maintained their Power with the help of the army. Since the fall of the Somoza dictatorship that bled the country for 40 years serious reforms Are under Way in spite of . Opposition to the sandinista. As Long As . Interests were not threatened we did not care who ruled the countries South of the Border. That All changed with another revolution in Cuba that also carried out Radical reforms. The United states condemned it tried to Over throw it and failed. When popular reforms were enacted in Guatemala and Chile we helped Over throw those legally elected leftist socialist governments. They Are both now under brutal dictatorships that we sup port. Nicaragua does not want to suffer the same Fate. For Many years contras or counter revolutionaries have been using Honduras soil from which to raid Nicara Gua. These Are acts of War by Honduras the contras and the United states with troops in Honduras As Well As naval units off of both coasts of Nicaragua. At last the nicaraguan sandinista troops have crossed into Honduras to try to destroy the contras and their bases. This was militarily justified and was provoked by the United states and Honduras. The real enemy for us is not the revolution and its reforms to help the common Man in Nicaragua Al Salvador and Guatemala. It is the old ruling and wealthy interests that want no limit on their Power and privilege. As Long As we support them they Are a Ball and Chain around our necks and a curse to their own people whom they have always betrayed and exploited. The United states was born out of a revolution so let us support these revolutions that fight for the common people i latin America. . Longworth Kitzinger Germany after the recent debates Over the con tra Aid package i Felt once again that the Public has been drawing the wrong lessons from recent history. Throughout the discussions the opposition insisted on using the Vietnam conflict As a parallel for the Contra situation the United states begins foreign military Aid and is slowly drawn into a Distant conflict in which american forces could not pre Vail. However i see the Bay of pigs fiasco As being a better example of the consequence of non action the United states provides Aid to an indigenous group of right Wing rebels and on the eve of attack fails to support her allies resulting in defeat for the rebels and the strengthening of a  soviet regime in the Western hemisphere. We cannot allow this to happen. If the Security of the Western hemisphere is to be maintained then the United states must support the contras to the fullest extent possible. Pvt. 2 Michael Barton Wuerzburg Germany Aid for Contra forces in Nicaragua is a necessity. This Aid must be timely and substantial. Cessation or reduction of this Aid can Only strengthen the position of the sandinista government. Many of those opposing this Aid possess the idea that a diplomatic or negotiated solution can be effected. They feel the sandinista can be shown the error of their ways. Stopping Aid can have Only an Adverse effect on any negotiations by reducing the need for the sandinista to bar gain. Why bargain when the very thing you want is Given to you at the commence ment a totalitarian government in Power with total control Over the lives of its subjects will not moderate its policies unless tremendous pressure is brought to  on it. And even then it is highly doubtful any significant moderation will occur. An integral part of marxist Leninist doctrine is the exportation of its political system. As Long As the contras remain a threat and the United states maintains a position of strength the sandinista will have no Chance to solidify their position or Export their ideology. Publicly a number of Central Amer ican countries seem to favor moderation in our policies. This is a direct result of our failure to support our friends when times become difficult. We have shown that when problems arise we follow the course of Short term political expedience rather than Long term strategic gain. Now in Central America things Are heating up. There Are two possible out comes  sandinista Compromise or Are overthrown and the United states is guarantor of Freedom in the americas 2. Resistance in Nicaragua is crushed and Victory for Havana and Moscow is achieved. By virtue of the tremendous amount of Aid Given by the soviets they would have a Strong say in the future of the area. It does not make sense for the other coun tries in the area to stand in the path of the . If the United states backs out they will have to Deal with the soviets on their own and it makes no sense to unnecessarily antagonize so powerful a nation. At one time it was valid to leave Cen trial America to handle its own internal problems. When the sandinista began accepting Aid from the soviets an external Factor was added and a potent . Response was called for. This response has been half hearted at Best. It seems that most of the liberals want to make a Token gesture so they won t be seen As weak on communism. A Token Ges Ture bespeaks a defeatist policy one in which the Effort is not made in Hope of attaining Victory but so the claim of a failed attempt can be made. This Type of policy could be fatal. We must decide whether we actually want to Stop soviet expansionism. If we do then it is imperative that we demonstrate this conclusively. The Only conclusive method available right now is Aid to those fighting communism in Nicaragua. Spec. 4 James r. Hanson Augsburg Germany dog show planned on May 18, we will have a dog show in Bergheim Quarato in the Bergerhaus. The show begins at 8 . And finishes at 5 . Every dog with a Pedigree can come and win a Beautiful trophy. We want to show american collies because in the .a. It is the year of the Collie. The three Best american collies get special trophies. These trophies will be handed Over by the . Ambassador to Germany or his proxy. We will be glad to say Welcome to a lot of Ameri cans and we Hope that some find friends in Germany. Everybody who is interested can give me a Call 02234-31093 or can write to re. Brigitte Maeurer Stern Bergstrasser 1 5020 Frechen 5 West Germany we discovered the dear Ann Landers i have read your column for Over 30 years and believe i can reach a broader segment of society through you than any other Way. In january 1983, we were among the first tenants in a Lux Ury apartment that had just been completed. Immediately water Heater had a defective heating Clement the clothes dryer was delivered with out belts for the drum and three of the four Shower handles hot and cold had been installed backward. Within 18 months we had to Call in repairmen twice for the microwave oven and three times for the refrigerator. The problem defective parts in March 1985, we remodeler our own cooperative apartment. With the advice of experts and our own research we bought and installed the finest appliances that Money could buy. Within seven months we had eight service Calls on four appliances. All these products were made in the .a. Any advice for me and thousands of others who Are experiencing the same agony or. And mrs. Nationwide consumer dear or. And mrs. Nationwide i called Lester Bachmann at Polk bros., an appliance maven for Many years and this is what he said the Quality of the major manufacturers who make appliances has improved not gotten worse As your Reader suggests. The proof is in the number of service Calls that Are made. The Quality control centers at these factories report that the ratio of service Calls per number of units sold has. Declined dramatically in the last few years. The major appliance manufacturers in metropolitan areas have factory authorized service centers. An 800 toll free number is provided for anyone who has a complaint. And Many appliances Are now covered by a two year warranty instead of one year. Your writer had a run of bad Luck to be sure but if he dealt with reputable manufacturers he should t have too much to worry  other considerations appliances these Days have More moving parts and Many have computerized circuits which Means More things can go wrong and they do. Moreover appliances Are built so they Don t last As Long As they used to. This is a simple marketing strategy. Consumers Call it planned  what can we do about it nothing. Go tight City Hall. Dear Ann Landers my father recently passed away. The attitude of certain friends and acquaintances toward the concept of memorial contributions has been gnawing at me Ever since. In fact i am furious. When the family of a loved one announces in the death notice that memorial contributions May be made to a specific Charity Church or non profit organization should friends and family Honor that re quest or Are they free to make contributions to whatever cause they like in my Humble opinion those who for per Sonal reasons prefer not to support a partic ular institution should simply abstain from contributing. I Don t believe funerals should provide an Opportunity to make a donation to one s favorite Charity. I find it self serv ing and disrespectful. Am i wrong b.a., Niagara Falls . Dear Falls i polled my secretaries and the verdict was unanimous. People who wish to make a contribution in memory of a deceased Friend or relative Are under no obligation to follow suggested guidelines. Incidentally i cast my vote with theirs. Readers wishing to write to news America Syndi Cate columnist Landers May address their letters in care of the stars and stripes Apo 09211, . Forces