European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - May 21, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 10 the stars and stripes thursday May 21, 1987 columns Nabila Megalli superpowers not immune to Gulf War hazards Manama Bahrain the devastating missile stuck on an american warship and the soviet Tanker that hit Amine demonstrate that the superpowers Are no More immune to he hazards of fenian Gulf warfare than the Commer Cial ships they have pledged to protect. The possibility of attacks on soviet or american ships has teen increasing since he two countries offered to help protect commercial shipping in he sea Lane that Supply about 10 percent of the non com Munsil world s Oil. That the attack on Jie . Navy Frig ate Stark was made by iraqi warplanes served to underscore the extent of the Hazard. Iran not Iraq has been seen As the major threat particularly since March when it was disclosed that Iran had in stalled new chinese made anti ship mis Biles on its coastline near the gulfs strategic Entrance the Strait of Hormuz. Iran said then that it would decisively counter any . Intervention in the Gulf More recently after Kuwait sought soviet and american help to protect its Tanker Fleet Tehran said it would not be intimidated by the presence of either superpower s warships. William Safire indeed Gulf area maritime and Sal Vage sources initially blamed the attack on the . Frigate on Iran and were sceptical of the . Assertion that Iraq was at fault Iraq conceded inc possibility of con fusion among its pilots and asked the americans to await the outcome of a serious investigation ordered by 1 Orcsi a tent Saddam Hussein. Predictably Tehran Loil no time in crowing Over the incident. The official news Agency Irna quoted prime min ister Hussein Musavi As calling it an embarrassing Issue for the United slates and showing that the Gulf was not secure for he superpowers. It is in their interest not o Emer these Quicksand he was quoted As say ing. On saturday the soviet Tanker marshal Chulkov was damaged when it hit a mine near Kuwait. Oil May 6, iranian revolutionary guards in a speedboat attacked a soviet freighter with rocket propelled grenades. The soviets have allowed kuwaiti ships to Fly the soviet Flag in an Effort to gain immunity from attack. The iraqi attack on the frigate Star followed last week s visit to he Region by assistant Secretary of state Richard Murphy. He discussed plans to Register 11 of Kuwait s 21 tankers in the unite states so they can Fly the american Flag and come under the Protection of . Warships. Murphy said the United states would take necessary measures to safeguard Freedom of navigation. The attack on the Stark evoked comparisons with other incidents involving the american Mil Mary in the Middle East. The 37 deaths were the most Ameri cans killed in peacetime since the octo Ber 1983 bombing of the . Marin Barracks in Beirut in which More than 240 americans serving in a peacekeeping Force were kilted. During the 1967 Middle East War israeli gunboats and planes attacked the . Electronic surveillance ship Liberty in the Mediterranean killing 34 Ameri cans and wounding 171. The United states officially accepted the israeli explanation that the attack was a mistake but some Navy official Sand oilers have continued to dispute that contending that Israel launched the attack to Slop . Eavesdropping on its War communications the Iraq Iran War spread into the Gulf itself about three years ago As the two countries sought increasingly to find ways to disable each other Oil based economies. Since then nearly 230 ships have been damaged and about 120 Tea men and others have been killed in he so called Tanker the six member states of the Gulf cooperation Council formed a joint Security Force two Yean ago. Although the Force was virtually powerless to prevent air and missile attacks by either Side thesis countries have until recently remained wary of direct superpower involvement. Following the reports of new iranian missiles and a . Offer to furnish armed escort for Gulf tankers Kuwait said it recognized the interest shown by superpowers and their endeavours to endure Freedom of navigation in the water Way for All left tool s note no Xii mtg in hit bin pm Agio Clawd Tai from Bahrain Fly tour Yun Rod hot cover we Tow Iran a and iraqi i tuck on quit Phlp. Ran Confra Flap result of constitutional overlap the framers in political heaven have decided that their descendants Are inadequately celebrating the 200th an in Ersary of their Handiwork. As a result they have arranged a great televised debate thai pits he nation s chief magistrate an commander in Hief clothed in the near Monarchio Power that most of the founders distrusted against the legislative body holding the exclusive Power o declare War and appropriate Money for the conduct of foreign policy. Now we have a Bicentennial with suitable political fireworks. The conflict underlying the Iran Centra hearings was caused by he ranters decision to overlap pow ers. Nobody is defending the Reagan policy of pay ing arms Ransom for hostages All admit now to that policy a self delusive stupidity. Nor is his at Bot Tom about the diversion Farma pro Iii into private Bank accounts ostensibly for the Contra. Today s scrap is about the overlapping of Powers not the separation of Powers because the writers of the Constitution took great care not to make Chewar making or foreign policy functions the exclusive Domain of any of the three centers of Power. Thus the House controls he purse the sea ale approves treaties and confirms appointments House and Senate together declare War and the president is in direct command of the military forces and Speaks for the nation in foreign inter course. In the restraint inherent in overlap in the guar Antee of permanent tension and institutional Strug Gle there is safety from takeover by any of the contending centers of Power. Congress in an Era of undeclared or proxy wars wants to retain its constitutional voice in the decision to begin or support hostilities accordingly it passes Laws requiring notification of the Transfer of arms. When president Reagan wanted to sell arms Toiran secretly he used a loophole in one of those Laws to make a finding that allowed him to Circum vent the will of Congress. Some will raise a Lega ruckus about whether he faithfully executed the Law but the solution will be political at the founders intended. Congress will tighten the Law s time requirement or add criminal sanctions or withhold of gee Gge tips 8sj Money for the Pentagon or otherwise punish the president in hearings before the people. That s the system working. When the president request for Aid to the anti communist lighten in Nicaragua was Rej tiled by Congress he got around that by calling for private support of the Central no constitutional Challenge Here until his aides became actively involved in fund raising now the Congress is engaged in the Public chastisement of the administration for using Public employee to thwart it will. Deterrence willbe increased with prosecutions the while House o Ven stepped whether or not the president knew of awl caking at the time. Bit what of the president s encouragement of other nations to support a War that Congress declined foolishly in my View to finance Here is the Gray area of overlapping Power in All its ambiguity. The president urges the provision of Azacs ind f-l5s to saudi Arabia Over much congressional opposition years later his National Security adviser passes the word to the saudi ambassador Thil the contras dear to Reagan s heart need More Money. King fahd visits the president and announces a entirely voluntary doubling of saudi Aid the presi Dent who hat been advised it would be illegal for him to solicit such Aid says gee Banks. Nothing illegal done but the Power of Congress has been subverted. In return for propos ing the Sale of arms to the saudis the president in effect diverts a kind of commission to a deserving third party. If that works Here cannot a future president tithe other arms recipients and thereby Spon Sor a personal foreign Aid program unencumbered by persnickety oversight to prevent further backdoor financing of proxy wars Congress must respond. Impeachment is not in order As no High crime can be alleged but to teach future presidents and other nations that con Gress is Wise to this kick Congress can fur example turn Down the president s current request 10 sell the most modern Jet fighter bombers to saudi Arabia the nation in cahoots with him to Drain Congress s Power to restrain War making. The political reaction is institutional not parti san or ideological and it was All designed just two centuries ago by inc ingenious apostles of overlap the Congress poached in the mid-1970s a presi Dent poached Back a decade later now the far Vershave their celestial sets tuned with their fortunate descendants to the kind of correction they had i mind
