European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - December 11, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 the stars and stripes thursday december 11,1986 James Reston symbols images Tell Washington s big Story sometimes its the Little symbols or even the fleeting pictures or phrases on the television screen that Tell the big Story in Washington for example we have a new speaker of the House of representatives this week Jim Wright of Texas a buddy of Sam Rayburn and Lyndon Johnson. And everybody looks at him in his Granny glasses and wants to know whether he s the right stuff or the wrong stuff. Maybe he gave a guess in a  the reporters looked him up he said he was a child of the depression and recalled the worst year of Hal economic disaster. That was the year he said when our family ate the  about the same time there was another unusual picture on the to. So Many lies had been told about the Iran Nicara Gua affair that Here was George Shultz fall people representing the stale depart ment of All offices holding up his hand before a committee of Congress and swearing to Tell the truth. This tells us something about the de Cline of Trust and common decency. This is the son of thing Congress used to do with dubious characters Crooks and scoundrels but not with the first Mem Ber of the president s Cabinet. Shultz was cautiously candid. He had been deceived he said even by his own ambassador in Beirut who was negotiating about arms and hostages with the Cia and the White House behind his Back. Shultz knew everything but the facts. He was Loyal but nol amused there were other alluring pictures. Bud Mcfarlane former National Secu Rity adviser look his hard chances like William Buckley Shutlz and appeared on Capitol Hill providing mysterious clarifications. Vice adm. John Poindexter and it. Col. Oliver North took the fifth Amend ment protecting themselves and their superiors from questioning and possible incrimination. And vice president George Dush con ceded that some mistakes had been made but that he supported everybody and blamed nobody. Not a pretty Pic lure. Then Patrick j. Buchanan the designated manipulator of the news in the White House could t stand it any longer and decided to strike out which he did in More ways than one. He struck out against he republicans who weren t backing the president in trouble. He struck out against the Washington Post and then turned to it for space to attack it which it gave him. In the process he gave the game away. He is one of the nicest Guys in own but his fastball is better Man his control and he writes belter than he thinks. His argument is thai Well maybe president Reagan s Iran Nicaragua adventure was t a great Success and maybe not even Legal but Franklin Roosevelt was t very Legal either when he fiddled some destroyers and intelligence to the British in the last world War nor was Abraham Lincoln when he winked at the illegal transport of Blacks from the South to the North during the War Between the states. Old sad pictures Are coming Back on the Walls of his political Cave in Washington we Sec them raising their Ami and their voices talking like John Ehr Lichman and . Haffeman of loyalty to the president but not to the presidency or inc Constitution. But it s not winning. Too Many peo ple not merely in Congress or the pres but within the administration know what has been going on and you can do anything with the american people except make them shut up. The president May not ask Poindexter and North what happened and they May take the fifth amendment for a while but even Buchanan agrees thai sooner or later and probably sooner than he thinks the facts will come out. Too Many people have been involved in his trickery of shipping arms to Iran and Money to Nicaragua and hiring old Cia geezers to Fly into Honduras and pretend that nobody upstairs in the while House knew any thing about it. At least some Allied officials know what has been going on. The israelis have been deeply involved in Al these shipments and Are not amused at being blamed for doing what High officials Here asked them to do. So the truth will come out an the screen or somewhere else and the sooner the better. In the end it is up to the president to get the facts he says he s determined to make Public. His Hopes for the last two years of his presidency May depend upon it new Voyk to Rifle of enl Benrice Justice deportment aids soviet executioners struggle As one does to forget or ignore the thesis of Whittaker Chambers in witnessjames1 Burnham in suicide of the West and Jean Francois Revet in How democracies perish every now and again a seemingly minor episode serves to drive Home their Point. One such is about to happen. The Justice department and the Federal courts Are about to Send one Karl Linnas to the soviet Union to be executed. Here is the position taken by the office of special investigations of the Justice department. The Osi set up in 1979 to find sex nazis living in the United slates prosecuted Linnas. And a federa judge ruled that yes Linnas had been a guard at a nazi Camp in Estonia and had participated As a guard in arrangements to Slaughter estonians jews and non jews including children 5 and 6 years old. Accordingly the Justice department charged Linnas had lied in applying to the United Stales for visa no one was admitted who had cooperated with the nazis. Therefore his citizenship in that it was based on a fraud was invalidated therefore he has no right to remain in the United Stales therefore he will be sent to the soviet Union pursuant to the soviet Union s request correction he will be sent to Estonia which is now a part of the soviet Union having been overrun by Stalin during the Hitler Stalin pact. The prosecution offered two witnesses to the alleged behaviour of Karl Linnas both estonians still living in the soviet Union the communists were infinitely obliging to the Justice department allowing a prosecutor and a de sense attorney to Fly Over to examine the two witnesses but when the defense attorneys said they wished to Check the witnesses credibility and to examine relevant archives the soviets no doubt smilingly in the spirit of Gorbachev Cai no. Our archives Are private. The soviet Union was absolutely certain about the guilt of Linnas. In tact a soviet court tried Linnas in absent a in january 1962, found him guilty and sentenced him to death. Unhappily it transpired that the verdict of the court bad been published in december 1961, which ii to say before the alleged trial Ever took place. And since we Are on the subject of soviet Justice it is Worth reminding ourselves that executing men women and children jews and non jews is something of a commonplace in the soviet Union nothing to get excited about. And we can remind ourselves further that if it is a crime warranting execution to have collaborated with the nazis then just about every soviet official Over the age of 62 should be executed which come to think of it is an extremely interesting thought but not one the soviet Union is Likely to pursue the Man who signed the Hitler Stalin pact in 1939 died peacefully the other Day at age 96. Now the prospective deportation of Linnas into the hands of the soviet executioners is scheduled for some time Between Christmas and new years All appeals having failed on legalistic lines but there is som concern Ramsey dark of Alt people is outraged by Whai has happened. So is Pat Buchanan who however reminds the friends of Linnas that As a White House aide All he can do is express a personal Opin Ion and amnesty International though us intervention is apparently motivated by its dogmatic opposition to the death penalty. In is presumably nol entirely irrelevant that Linnas has been fervently supported by the testimony of neighbors and by his two daughters he is a widower that he has lived As an exemplary citizen engaged in land surveying. He has been publicly conspicuous in Only one respect he has steadfastly railed against the activities of tie soviet Union and he has specifically protested the annexation of his Homeland. And Linnas is not without Legal allies on the sober Side of Ramsey dark. The Columbia journal for transnational Law concluded that the use of soviet Evi Dence in american courts raises serious and unique questions of due process and fundamental  the entire episode is judicially revolting How is it possible to try someone on the basis of soviet testimony which was written before the trial was actually conducted and even if someone had stored films showing Linnas As a guard at a concentration Camp in the Early 40sj what is the appropriate penalty in 19867one can be open to suggestion on the subject but not to a suggestion thai he toe sen Back to be shot in the country Hal signed a pact with Adolf Hitler and in its bloody history has slaughtered some so million peo ple. It is on the order of sending Linnas to the Ukraine to be hanged for starving ukrainians. If president Reagan Grants him clemency will the pundits claim this As a plot by it. Col. Oliver North