European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - May 27, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 the stars and stripes wednesday May 27,1987 columns William Safire arguments for against staying in persian Gulf the Case for keeping a . Naval Force in inc persian Gulf is summed up As i a superpower must maintain inc principle of Freedom of the seas every where 2 we must no allow Iran to Cut off the flow of Oil to the Western democracies and Japan and 3 unless we Honor our decades old commitment 10 protect the Gulf he soviet Union will eagerly move into inc vacuum and take control or the Oil shipping lanes and the Arab world. The opposition to our military guarantee to Oil tankers in the Wake of the loss of life aboard the frigate Stark goes this Way i we Are foolish to uphold our principle in Waters where belligerents arc shooting Al each other 2 we should not be the Only cop on the Deal if Oil is vital to our allies the Burden of defense should be shared 3 we should not allow our Chain to be jerked by neutralise nations who coerce our open ended Protection by threaten ing to run to the russians. These opposing positions on the Issue of re Flag Ging kuwaiti tankers with the . Flag reflect a Basic difference of mired set about geopolitical strategy and about whether Congress or the president shall predominate in the War making Power. We can Hope the argument Wilt nol soon degenerate in Loire president s saying America must not Cut and run from our solemn responsibilities at our first toss of blood and doves in Congress replying America mus nol be drawn into the quagmire of a local religious racial War thai has already Cost a million Eastall  let s confront the ambiguity we do have a National economic interest in keeping the Strail of Hormuz open and an emotional interest in not submitting to dictation from the ayatollahs in Tehran but we Are being euchre Inlo a widening defense commitment by a regime in Kuwait that has the highest per capita income in the world and a Long record of anti americanism. By Selling what May be sound policy in secret. Presi Dent Reagan is setting himself up fora huge who needs this by ducking the reporting requirements of the War Power act he is playing into the hands of inc isolationists at Home and Ine most cynical Oil sheiks abroad. Thanks to Don Oberdorfer of the Washington Post we know How we got into the Pickle after Reagan s arms for hostages appeasement of Iran became known ast november one Oil producing Arab state support ing Iraq s War against non Arab Iran panicked. By March Kuwait had arranged with inc soviet Union for Protection of its Tanker Al i to pleven the Gulf rom becoming a soviet Lake. Reagan authorized do Cense Secretary Caspar Weinberger to offer to put the . Flag on 11 kuwaiti ships. The presumably inadvertent attack on the Stark Sud Denly shone a spotlight of publicity on the increasing . Flora Lewis military involvement on the Side of the anti iranians. Now Congress is asking properly Why we Are there Why we Are alone and where we Are heading. Reagan should have some potent answers As the first paragraph of today s essay suggests. But the Days of following inc president blindly into harm s Way arc pan. He must explain to the Branch that raises armies where he is willing to go and what inc const quinces of projection Are. What if for example some iranian Kamikaze Pilot is Able to penetrate the most sophisticated computerized weaponry on one of our warships Are we pre pared to punish the nation thai attacks us for protect ing its enemy by taking out one of its airfields will we creep Home if one of our ships is sunk As we did after the attack on the Marine Barracks in Lebanon or will we retaliate militarily will the Public threat of such a rain of bombs on their most sensitive centers of military strength deter irrational iranians from trying to Slop the flaw of Oil it May be that an articulate president can persuade the Public to support a Lough posture by overlaying anti iranian sentiment with strategic sense. Ii May be that Congress can be made to see the consequences in inflation and in world leadership of failing to defend the Gulf. It May be that the conniving kuwaitis have us Over an Oil barrel and thai we must knuckle under1 to their threat of inviting in the russians. But nothing we do will be credible if we go in without a plan without some sacrifices anticipated without the ground of Public opinion prepared tile purpose of putting our naval farces in harm s Way is not to ask for trouble but to prevent harm. The Way for the president to protect his prerogatives of office is nol to pc fog about War Powers Beto go to the nation with his Case. Now York Tom my Sarvich foreign policy by Symbol is o dangerous gome the ardor of the wealthy people who gave Money for a plane and military supplies to the while House Contra cause is a reflection of the broader at tempt by hard liners to take foreign policy Oul of function ing International relations. Joseph Coors and Ellen Garwood who contributed to the private fund for nicaraguan rebels did not imagine i hey were just buying television ads. As president Reagan said he supposed. They knew they were supporting an armed Campaign. This approach to the Reagan Doc Trine find a cause is distorting american relations in several parts of the world. I is abetted rather than blocked in Congress in some cases and it is responsible for quarrels within the administration that Are Ham stringing . Policy it is hard to see the Point for example in the decision to provide so called Cov Ert Aid to Jonas Sav Imbi s uni la guerrillas in Angola who Are backed by South african armed Fortes As Well As supplies. Leave aside for the moment whether or not there is something to be gained by keeping the guerrilla War going in an Gola South Africa is going 10 do that in any Case. Why would the . Want to take on inc expense and the onus in inc rest of Africa of adding its Bil from far away so that Washington can also be seen in Sav Imbi s Corner the explanation Given privately from within the National Security Council staff is Hal Sav Imbi offers an irresistible anti communist cause to crusaders. There is no real expectation thai he can win. And that is not South Africa s aim. Pretoria s purpose is to keep the situation unstable in neighbouring Black states. That does t help the . It Only assures Hal cuban troops will remain in Angola. But it does give a Chance to keep an anti communist conflict alive for some americans to support without a big commitment of Money and men. Similarly congressional right wingers led by sen. Jesse Helms Are trying to drum up support for the Renemo band in Mozambique. Originally organized by Rhodesia when it was fighting against the demand for a Black majority govern ment rename has backing from some right wingers in Portugal who never liked that country s move to democracy from South Africa and from a Bunch of desperate dispossessed peasants in a country wracked by famine and disorder. To pursue that tight against the state department s Effort u help Mozambique regain stability and turn away from soviet support Helms and his group Are blocking the appointment of the new . Ambassador Melissa Wells. They have nothing against Wells a career foreign service officer with a Good record. But they consider her representative of slate s policy of con slur civic engagement in Southern Afri Ca a policy denounced by antagonists of the apartheid regime but also by opponents of diplomacy 10 woo marxist oriented slates away from Moscow. Rename has a particularly unsavoury reputation for brutal terrorism and no particular program. It can keep Mozambique in distress bul it cannot construct anything. Again it offers a cause to Mili Tant Ami a in the . Al Low immedi ate Cost though without thought for the longer Ranee damage to the United states in the world and Basic . Inter est in seeing Black Africa begin to sur mount its devastating turmoil. Secretary of state George Shultz has told Mozambique officiate that he and Reagan fully support help for Mozambique bul Helms and sen. Larry Presslor have sponsored an amendment that would deny any Aid to Mozambique and Angola foreign policy by Symbol has brought even More dramatically visible disaster in the persian Gulf. As sen. John Glenn pointed out after the Stark was attacked this attempt to use Force As a Bluff in War Lorn areas has come to Boomerang. The massacre of the marines in Lebanon came As a result of giving them a Mission to show themselves without considering How they needed to be equipped and deployed in Case of Challenge. Apparently warships in the persian Gulf Are expected to dominate by showing the Dag not by carrying out their missions certainly this Situa Tion has become a Case for invoking the War Powers act but the administration refuses because there is still an attempt to replace decision with display to cheer a cause without facing the consequence. What All these efforts have in common is a ballgame mentality pick a Side and make cheering noises but let somebody else run the game. The focus it on Domestic politics not on advancing . Needs in the world. The Issue for the United states in dealing with other nations cannot be Jun to find relatively cheap involvement that show whom the United state Jop poses. The world out there is real tint dangerous. These Are irresponsible Way of achieving self righteousness Cut Row Vert Titi Kiwi Atna