European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - June 4, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 the stars and stripes wednesday june 4, 1986 columns Carl Rowan americans being prepared for strike against Syria Are you taking proper Nolick of the drum fire of propaganda designed to Condi Tion you and me to accept ,1 preemptive military strike against Syria the Reagan administration saw Ameri cans getting so much instant gratification from the bombing of Libya that White House political honchos began to Sec dizzying political Bonanza in new military assaults against stale  so we began to get a lot of talk about How Syria Iran and the soviet Union sup port terrorists factual stuff. Then came reports from Israel that Syria was behind a bungled attempt to bomb an Al Al Airliner in London on april 17. The syrian menace grew rapidly. A couple of weeks ago the new York Post had a screaming headline syrian army gears up Tor War and a subhead asserting that new tank batteries within striking distance of  the next Day in an article Given top play the Washington Post quoted Secre tary of stale George p. Schultz and Dep Uty Sec Clary John c. Whitchead As hav ing no reason to doubt the israeli charges against Syria. That same morning the Washington times carried an article out of Tel Aviv written by Andrew Meisels under a head line saying Israel Marks birth casts wary Eye on  the article dealt with alleged fears of a syrian attack on Israel. Just below that article was a news analysis piece by Martin Sicoff headlined Syria passing Israel in military Readi  this article was loaded with scary statistics about inc growth of syrian Mili tary manpower and the increase in sophisticated soviet weaponry delivered to the syrians since 1982. A Surprise syrian attack including deep penetration strikes by. Missiles could seriously disrupt Israel s mobilization and give Syria inc upper hand Sicoff wrote. In pne of those marvelous Little journalistic coincidences in another Section of that same Washington times columnist Smith Hempstone wrote the fire next time in the Middle East is More Likely to be Over Damascus rather than Over Tripoli. William f. Buckley reason syrian president Hafez Assad As deeply implicated in International terrorism As Libya s Moa mar Qadhafi is on the verge of achieving military parity with Israel and the israelis Are sorely tempted to launch a preemptive strike against him while the military and political climate re Mains favourable Hemps Lonc cited the same figures about the syrian military buildup that Sieff used. Clearly an orchestrated Campaign is under Way with the israeli embassy the Cia the state department and other elements of both governments trying to build not just a terrorism rationale but a threat Loisray justification for bomb ing Syria and syrian military emplacements in Lebanon. This is a propaganda Campaign into which Many americans will be suckered willingly letting passions Blind them to the new perils to israelis and americans that an assault on Syria would produce. Bombing relatively weak and geographically convenient Libya is one thing attacking Syria would be something else a costlier adventure than Israel s ill fated invasion of Lebanon in 1982, and a More dangerous dare to the Kremlin to do something or face humiliation. Over 40 years we have come to believe thai nuclear War Between inc great Powers is unthinkable and impossible. But it is just this kind of preemptive Folly among Cli ent slates that could produce armageddon. Icon Fri America syndic file court order seeks clarification of Church state Issue a new York court has told two National organizations of the roman Cath Olic Church thai either they produce a set of documents the plaintiffs have got a subpoena out for or else they each pay up j50.000 for each Day in which they delay doing so. The action by judge Robert Carter has brought out a lot of smiles in judicial Polit ical circles As a Rule you Don t step up and Fine the Catholic Church or the protestant Church or the jewish Church for failure to comply with Ristic complaints. But in tact judge Carter is in effect asking higher courts for a clarification that ought to be made. It ought to be made in the Congress but Congress has a Way of leaving the More ticklish subjects to the courts. In order to get a tax exemption an organization needs to get a ruling called a "501 c 3 that ruling is a part of the internal Revenue code and it decrees that the organization is question is non political in nature but that it May take political positions provided its doing so is not a substantial part of its activity but that under no circumstances can it directly endorse a political candidate for office. Now it is Well known that the Catholic Church As also other churches including conservative jewish sects opposes Abor Tion. An outfit called the abortion rights mobilization has thought to amuse itself by trying to prove that the two primary Catholic organizations it is suing have in effect directly endorsed in the past one candidate Over another on the abortion Issue. The Catholic organizations have taken the position that the documents subpoenaed arc private documents and that any at tempt to Lay hands on them violates the right of religious organizations under the first amendment. Now much of this is fun and games for this reason without specifying the name of the person you endorse for Public office it becomes possible to make absolutely obvious who it is you have in mind to endorse. They used to Tell in bos Ion a wonderful Story about an Anglo phobic Catholic priest who could never get through a Sermon without saying some thing unpleasant about the British. For this one Day he was reprimanded by the Bishop told to cease and desist immediately from his anti British cracks More Over the Bishop would attend the very next mass on sunday at which the priest spoke to Monitor the Sermon. On thai Day the priest gave a Sermon on the subject of the last supper so routine in substance that the Bishop began to doze and indeed was dozing when the priest reaching the Apex of the Story reported that Christ had said to his apostles that thai night one of them would betray him. Judas spoke up i say guv nor scr Doan mean me under irs rules the priest would not have been held guilty of making an anti English remark one supposes by Exten Sion. The Point of it is of course that inc most comprehensive indictments As also the most galvanizing endorsements Are made by indirection. The rhetoricians have a word for it Par Lipsis. I come to Bury Caesar not to Praise him Means actually come to Praise Caesar and Only incidentally to Bury  thus i am not telling you who to vote for next tuesday but you. Should be guided by your conscience in voting for those who respect human  to Rule that a priest can t say that or a minister or a rabbi is indeed to stick your foot into the door extending the authority of the state Over the rights of the conscience keepers. For that reason the higher courts Are not Likely to sustain judge Carter. But in not doing so they arc probably going to have to Slick out their necks and in effect explicitly recognize the legitimacy of activity that theoretically is not legitimate. The irs has been pretty latitudinal Ian in handing out its 501 c 3 s. Mother Jones a Radical left monthly got itself a Deduc Tion As did is. Magazine. If you think is. Magazine believes it s completely up to you to decide whether to vote for the candidate who approves of the equal rights amendment or the candidate who does not approve of the Era you Haven t read is. Magazine which the majority of the american people arc smart enough not to do. But of course a Magazine and a Church Are different organizations and the Law will need now to reach into its inventory of super refined definitions in order to justify some things and not others. It is highly practice in this you can t use pub Lic Money to support Church schools but you can use Public Money to pay congressional and military chaplains. The courts Are old hat at hewing to in decipherable distinctions. Cd in Luerul print Syndicate