European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - June 28, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 10 the stars and stripes sunday june 28,1987 William f. Buckley or. Rogers Correct in criticizing missile withdrawal so Secretary of state George Shutlz told the nato commander in chief to shut up about his objections to the inf agreement and Here and there the Flag was hoisted 10 our tradition thai the civilian will Rule Over the military and not vice versa. They remembered president Harry Truman telling Gen. Douglas Macarthur to shut up and to come Home from Korea the sooner to fade away. They remembered president Carter telling Gen. John Singlaub our commandant in South Korea to shut up about car Ter plan to withdraw All our ground forces there. It is however one thing to uphold As the right of he civilian head of stale to exercise nil authority As com Mander in chief to rebuke and even to recall his offi cer in the Field but it something else to assume that because they have this authority they Are necessarily right when they exercise it. And anyway Gen. Bernard Rogers can t very Well be demoted inasmuch As he is retiring in any event. Heis 65 years old he has been supreme Allied commander of nato for eight Yean and he shows no signs what Ever of stopping his criticism of the ill designed ill fated agreement to withdraw our penning missiles from Central Europe in return for the soviet Union s agreeing to withdraw theirs. A things currently stand 100 soviet ss-20s will be Laken from the Western front Over to Siberia where they will peer inquisitively Over the politics of South Korea China and Japan we will withdraw our 100 perching to the United states. Given their Range of 2,000 to 1,000 mile the missiles will prove Handy to us in the event key West or san Francisco should get out of hand. Anthony Lewis what Gen. Rogers said in an interview with the of. West Virginia to Amsterdam would require 10 new York times Paul Lewis published june 17 was divisions of tanks to run Over inc Flower children who that the projected Swap Means very simply thai our would stand in the Way. Deterrent Force in Europe is weakened. He went so Faras to say that his views on the Maiu rare shared by All la a party dismayed by the Deal and recognizing its pol Cal implications Lor West Germany the probability is his subordinate military commanders in the 16-nation Western Alliance. That makes for a formidable Consen sus leaving us to contemplate Only the single Point implicit in the projected Deal namely that its purpose is not military but political and thai the advantages to be gained politically outweigh those to be Losi militarily. On this Point Gen. Rogers is painfully Clear. He tells us that Many european leaders ruefully regret inc treaty to which they Are now committed but that they Are hoist on their own Why because in order to Curry favor with local opposition that arose when or. Reagan complying with a request that originated with the social democratic government of West Germany set out to deploy the Pershing and the cruise missiles it was All done under the cover of these called Zero option. This meant that if the soviets would agree to withdraw their ss-20s, we would agree to remove our pers bings. To the Surprise of every political Leader and to the dismay of every military strategist suddenly the soviet Union recognized that its situation would improve by going along with Zero option. After All if the soviets wanted the ss-20s Back in place at any future Date transporting them from Siberia to the Ukraine in t All Eliut much More difficult than transporting ukrainians to Siberia in which logistical exercise they Are Abun Dantly experienced. To get our per things Back from meanwhile Weil Germany s Alfred Dregger who is the floor Leader of the governing Christian democratic. That in a few Yeara soviet conventional arms Prepon Derance will have the effect of bringing a neutralise government 1o Power in West Germany after which development the future of nato would be in doubt has suggested in effect that France and West German should integrate their deterrent arsenals and under the leadership of France augment them so As to make up for the absence of american missiles that could reach russian soil. To effect any such unit would require hugely complicated political machinations principal among hem repairing France s refusal to join any Alliance in which its authority is in any Way straitened France w Only so to speak air adjunct member of nato. Bui there is sentiment for dec Easell Reliance on the United slates even though the leaders of Europe know thai in the end there is no substitute for the nuclear umbrella whose roots Are in Nebraska South Dakota and Wyoming far removed from the political reach of european patriots. Our allies arc left in a Hind and in is dismaying to contemplate with such icy detachment that in the current controversy Secretary Shulli is Neville Chamberlain and Gen. Rogers is Winston Churchill. C Ufa hiatal a Tab no Surprise sorrow or anger from Reagan with All the bizarre and chilling testimony Over these last weeks in a Way the most extraordinary thing in the Iron Contra hearings in Congress is some thing that has nol happened president Reagan has not expressed a word of outrage at the facts disclosed a word of regret. The country Learned thai officials of his administration hired a Navaie entrepreneurs to Nin an important aspect of foreign policy outside our political system outside the Law. Sen. William s. Cohen a Maine said the testimony has shown two governments one elected the other procured but the president has expressed no Surprise at this Radical departure from the Constitution. He was not angry and he was not sorry not so far As we know. He said with that Large Canvas so with the grotesque details. A retired general now a private businessman took a group of iranian on a tour of the White other things he showed them the situation room where the most secret american military plan Ning takes place. To bring uncleared outsiders into the situation room much less representatives of a state that pro claims its hostility to us ii an astonishing breach of Security. But the president was not astonished. Or indignant. Nol so far As we know. He said nothing. There Are dozens of questions arising from the hear Ings that responsible citizens should want answered and that a responsible president would want to answer. Here Are a . President two of the Prival individuals acting for your administration Richard Secord and Albert Hakim promised delegations from Iran that the United states would go to War if the soviet Union invaded Iran and would depose president Saddam Husser of Iraq. Do you think such undertakings should be offered an behalf of this country without consideration by Congress or at least the responsible executive departments you said recently or president that there was no smoking gun connecting you with any wrongdoing in the Iran Centra affair. There has been detailed Testi Mony that la col. Oliver North of your National Security Council staff hired outsiders to sell arms to the contras and Iran arrange airstrips buy planes and spend Large sums. Are you saying that As president you had no responsibility for any of thai under our political system who then was accountable to the peo ple for those activities rep. Lee Hamilton chairman of the House investigating committee asked who supervised col North who was responsible for . Funds earned from the Sale of . Arms who asked whether actions Laken were lawful can you answer those questions please comment also on Hamilton s statement that accountability requires acceptance of responsibility up the Chain of do you think it is Wise and proper for american foreign policies to be secretly financed by contributions from foreign Poi enlaces do you think in is right and consistent with Ameri can ideals for government officials to solicit funds from private american citizens to carry on foreign policies forbidden by acts of Congress one american who donated such funds testified that he was told you would personally meet and thank any contributor who gave j3do,000 or More to Send arms to the contras. Whai do you think of that approach North had documents altered and shredded after the Iran Ontra affair began to unravel. Why do you think he did that do you condemn the action rep. Henry Hyde. R-ill., said North and the others used Means that were wrong and bad and blameworthy but those Means were justified by the end the nicaraguan resistance do you agree thai the end justified the Means but Reagan has not addressed himself to those or other substantive questions raised by the Iran Contr affair profound questions going to the foundations of our political society. What Little he has said has seemed eerily casual detached from the realities of what gel around quite a Bil in the country Reagan said last month and 1 Haven t seen any evidence that i be been mortally wounded nor do the people seem to be unhappy about what we be been doing Here on june 16 he said people were going Back to their favor Ite television in their frivolous Ness and personalization those comments Are reminiscent of what mayor Edward i. Koch used to say Ai he presided Over the corruption of new York City s government How m i doing 10 Haw York times
