European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - July 28, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 columns the stars and stripes tuesday july 28. 1987 James Reston testimony by Shultz was a breath of fresh air at the end or these past two weeks of the Iran Milra hearings the mood in Washington i much belter than it was at the beginning. Secretary of stale George Shutlz lanced Trie Poison lie told an alarming Story of corruption at the top of the government and by idling it All out he somehow managed to restore a Sens of truth and purpose 10 he proceedings. In doing to he demonstrated Shalun elected unconfirmed and virtually unknown staff officers in the White route can nuke major foreign policy decisions by deceiving the president and distorting the Normal system of accountable demo cratic go Hemment. Bui second and equally important Shultz and these committees also demonstrated thai this system of separate and equal Powen can be manipulated Only so far before it rallies under stress. This is what has happened in Washington because one official without the shield of immunity or the Aid of counsel simply told the truth. Shutlz transformed what had been a lawyers Bailie and in some ways a partisan political Wrangle into Genera understanding of what went wrong and what corrective action needs to be taken. He tried to excuse the president s managerial irresponsibility but did t quite succeed. He did t ivc his own stewardship an a plus either but he described the Battle Royal within the government Over the shipment of arms to Iran. The nutty efforts of the Cia and the National Security Council to As sume the authority of the policymakers the cock and Bull stories they told in the process and his own efforts to re store order by offering to resign. Several Good things came out of All this to was made Clear at least to committee members that the exercise of government Power without accountability is a formula for failure if not disaster that Congress and the executive must cooperate if there is to be an effective foreign policy thai people can Trust and Hal every lie leaves a drop of Poison in its Wake. These Are not merely glittering generalities. After the pain and humiliation of these scandals it will probably be a Long Lime before the Cia and the Csc con fuse intelligence with policy and run wild Over or around the president and the Congress and a Long time Loo before the Constitution is violated in the name of conservative principles. Rear adm. John Point enter presi Jim Fain Dent Reagan s former National Security and Road to popularity and wealth but Are no Viser tried to blame the press and his fear substitute for obeying the Law. Of leaks for his secret manipulations on Iran and the contras but the Rulh is that the Washington press corps did a very poor Job on this squalid Story. It was scooped by an obscure Magazine in the Middle East on the . Arms sales to Iran and after listen ing to Shuttz s account of trickery and guerrilla warfare in and around the while a Nus one ecu to wonder what All these journalistic plumbers were doing while i. Col. Oliver North was running Loose and Shultz was resigning. And Shutlz reminded us that those in High places Are More than the administrators of government bureaus or the writers of the Laws but that they Are also As Walter Lippmann observed Many years ago the custodians of a nation s ideals of the beliefs it cherishes of its permanent Hopes of the Faith which makes a nation out of a Mere aggregation of  poin Duxler proved Hal staff officers can t protect presidents by keeping them in the dark and thai presidents can t protect themselves by closing their eyes. North proved that bravery and obedience 10 the president May be the High Congress too proved some thing in these hearings. It staged an Edu  seminar on the Constitution for a vast audience. It demonstrated that men can differ with Good natured civility and that there Are still some Good men we May be overlooking in our search for the next president. He nov Kissinger said a few years ago that if he had the Power to appoint a president his Choice would be George Shutlz. Maybe he would t say so now but Here is a Man who has run the budget and the labor Treasury and stale departments and nobody even mentions him for the White House. That is a part of the system that Vecdi to be Analysed while Washington is in a reforming mood. We have teen recently almost for the first time impressive Man like Hamilton of Indiana Foley of Washington Mitchell and Cohen of Maine and we keep hearing about Baker of Tennessee and Cuomo of new York and of hrs who Are at least As presidential As the running candidates but the people Don t see them. Maybe it s because they just Don t look around. Leaks Are shameful but Seldom kill anything it was lies or lives says i. Col. Oliver North who inhabits a purple universe. Had he Lold the truth. Congress would have leaked his secrets and Good men would have perished. Rear adm. John Poindexter used much the same excuse. C Mon. Fellas. Leaking is a shameful cowardly weapon of political guerrilla warfare but it Seldom kills anything beyond policies and reputations. It Range from Back ground briefings to Clandestine winks. Martin Laksy a Harvard professor surveyed 957 officials from j%3 through 1983. Of 483 to Pondenis. 42 percent admitted leaking inside information an abnormally High ratio of truthfulness for Baghdad on the Potomac. While the Capitol May leak in a Thunder Shower the White House is a Sieve in 20 percent humidity. Nine of 10 leaks come from the executive Branch. Reagan s Media minded men have perfected the Craft. One of the loonies episodes came in 19b5 when White House officials whispered to whoever would listen that Virtuly a Urchenko the Kab official who skipped out leaving the Cia his dinner Check had brought no secrets Worth knowing. Wounded Agency spooks spilled counter leaks insisting that he had brought the keys to the Kremlin nothing new in this. Common in the Kennedy administration leaking became the political weapon of Choice under Johnson and Lias been rampant since. As in Cole Porter congressmen do it their staffs do it belter and More frequently. Cabinet officers do it nol half As skilfully As assistant secretaries. Even presi dents do it. More gush than leak. Kennedy released photos of missiles in Cuba to justify his policy there just As Reagan s people used satellite photos of soviet arms reaching Nicaragua North blamed sen. Robert Byrd , and Claibore Pell d-r.i., for the deaths of two air men in last year bombing of Libya. Actually As sen. Daniel Nouye a Hawaii. Pointed out. Byrd declined comment and Pell old inquiring newsmen Only to watch the president s telecast. Indiscretion maybe but no leak. Inouye then ticked off a list of administration leaks prior to the alack he did t mention the Mosi costly revelation. That came from Reagan who in blaming Gad ajl for the affair said we had signal intercept proof Hal Tripoli had directed the German disco attack in which a of and a woman were i Elrd and 200 wounded. Thai told Libya we had solved its or Jolo soil pm and Libya i my Daidy reworked it. Most leaks do not materially affect Security. They Are used As weapons in political and policy Battles. Reporters seize on them because they have the intrigue of forbidden fruit. They Are nol so much slips of the lips that sink ships As Seal la bombers enabling face less people to attack political lots and policies they dislike. My Media Brethren ought nol Prim them unless they can be verified from other sources. A Good Rule is 10 accept personal responsibility for Uit attributed Statem cols publishing from Anonymous sources Only Oliai you know for sure is True. In current Media mores that notion is As fashionable As wide lapels. The Washingion Post a few scars Back defended ils Unalt buted report that Carter had bugged Reagan s quarters by saying it had a civic duly 10 publish gossip that gained widespread Curren u inks Are designed to manipulate opinion without accountability. They re As irresponsible As plausible deniability out nol nearly ii damaging pm nil a flirt in ukr i u i m a Irio t Ira Truie ii u tha Sla t Ai a Sii a i to tit payt a at my Flung