European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - August 10, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 the stars and stripes monday August 10,1987 column William f. Buckley or. Persian Gulf Protection demands Allied Effort the hell Sal by our allies As a like to think of them 10 participate in our Effort to patrol the persian Gulf is a grave Challenge for which there is no entirely obvious solution. There is a very obvious temptation which is to Tell our allies of so you Don t worry about mobility through he Strait of Hormuz. So we Don t worry about mobility through the Strait of Hor Muz and we Tell our sailors 10 come on Home. But there Are problems Here. There is first a diplomatic question not so very interesting to the Layman but of some weight in International arrangements. It it this that we undertook to re Flag the kuwaiti Tanker without consulting any of our allies. This does not strike us As Bumpious and evidently did t strike the state department As such but nations even those heavily dependent on us like not to be taken for granted. It is one thing for France and Spain to refuse us overfly rights when we asked for them for Pic libyan strike another to assign them he responsibility to come up with mine sweepers or whatever to reinforce an opera Tion we initiated without consultation. There is a by no Means ill founded fear in Europe about american steadfastness. The Rock of Gibraltar of that apprehension was of course Vietnam. Thim nil ministrations Loudl proclaimed our Fidelity to our promises there and then one Day we just slunk of. The indecisive Ness of . Policy in Nicaragua is not reassuring to our allies. And of course it was Only a few years ago that we pulled out of Lebanon having organized an International peacekeeping Force to operate there. There Ore undoubtedly politicians in Europe who Are saying thai it is not inconceivable that the United Stales would decide to pull out of the persian Gulf if we took a she lacking there leaving our allies in the lurch. And then there is the principal economic Point. As things now stand Only 4 percent of our imported Oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz. Western Europe gets 11 percent of its Oil through the water route Japan 60 percent. To reason that we have nothing much to lose a Mere 4 percent of our Oil is too facile. If the Strait of Hormuz were shut Down Japan and Western Europe would bid desperately for Oil from other parts of the world. There is no Way in the Short run to make up the deficit we would suffer from the Strait s closing Down with current consumption continued at the present rate. So that the first result of the Strait s closure would be a worldwide Oil drought. But what then would happen is that the deprived countries would begin bidding for Oil now being sold elsewhere including to the United states. We get our foreign Oil primarily from Canada Venezuela and Mexico. But these three Are followed by Nigeria the Carl t. Rowan the  United kingdom saudi Arabia via the red Seal Geria Indonesia and Angola. We have special leverage on Mexico and maybe even Canada. But every other seller would go gladly to any higher bidder a summary of which Ados up simply to this that closing the Strait of Hormuz would deeply affect the Economy of the world including our own so that although Western Europe and Japan certainly ought to be sharing the Burden the Burden is not one we Are in a position to escape even if they elect not to cooperate. And then there is the question of the soviet Union Silling up there to the North a Little sweaty these Days from the exertions of taking on Afghanistan. It lakes a lot of time and Effort to manufacture toys that conceal Booby traps dropped in resistance areas for Little Chil Dren to pick up but the soviet Union is always everywhere on the prowl. And the Juiciest Large of All is the persian Gulf. Control it and you control he Prin Cipal deposits on which Western economic production relics. This is most prominently a Lime for skillful diplomatic negotiation. A Little Carrot and More than a Little stick. But nothing above All thai shakes up the Basic Alliance. Bellino Praxi Al the time the prime minister of Italy railed against us for pursuing and bringing Down the egyptian Airliner with the hijackers of the Achille Laura and he permitted one of the hijackers to Fly off to Yugoslavia. But this time around we find him cautioning against avoiding one s responsibilities at such a delicate  we should keep the Fleet there and mount pressure on our allies to share the Burden. And of yes the Cost to any per Sian Gulf country responsible for sinking one of our ships should be carthaginian in scale. C Len Emu it big Syndicate cigarette smoking a first Doss he Doche on a recent night from South Carolina i tried out Piedmont airlines new first class service. The fresh blueberries raspberries and pineapple were truly premiere class but i had trouble enjoy ing them. There were Only two rows in the first class Section and the Man be Hind me was smoking like a Barbecue Grill. T had to live so to speak with the absurd pretence Hal i was in a non smoking seat and the cigarette Puffer was in the smoking  i turned my air Jet on full blast and tried to submerge my irritation in a Glass of Champagne even As i remembered these words from a recent report by sur Geon general c. Everett Koop it is now Clear that disease risk due to inhalation of tobacco smoke is Noi solely limited to the individual who is smoking but can also extend to those individuals who inhale tobacco smoke in room  a few sneezes tearing eyes and a Runny note told me that the smoker in Row 2 was Messing with my physical Well being.  i asked myself will the air lines end this fiction of pretending they have non smoking sections in the cramped quarters of an air plane 1 answer myself with never except under the pressure and Prole Cion of a Federal  the american lung association has released a poll showing that three Ameri cans out of four say smokers should re Frain from smoking in the presence of non so jokers. Bui timid airlines officials Bow to about 20 percent of their Passen Gers who demand that smoking be permitted during nigh i. There is now Hope thai non smoking air traveler will be spared the discomfort and health risks brought on by compulsive smokers. After a sizzling debate the House of representatives has voted 198 to 193, to ban smoking on flights of two hours or less. For safely health and other reasons i 3m with the american lung association in asking for a total ban on smoking on commercial airliners. But i understand the greed of the tobacco lobby and Pas Sion of tobacco addicts even though nine of 10 smokers say they want to quit. So i can live for a while with a no smoking Rule for flights of two hours or less. The United states in t Likely to reach the american cancer society s goal of a smoke free society by the year 2000," but we Are making Progress. The cancer society says 37 million americans Are i smokers people who quit to pre serve their own health. I have Many friends who Haven t been Able to quit but who display a sensitivity a Courtesy of not imposing their smoke on their Fel Low diners or Auto and airline passengers. I am convinced that most smokers would Welcome an airline ban that would free them from their Habil for two hours. But the Senate is Likely to be deluged by tobacco lobbyists and the most arrogant and insensitive of smokers fighting for their right to Powin you and me with passive smoke. Let us Hope the Senate will have the guts the sense of Fri mess to say that a traveler who is allergic to smoke ought to be Able to enjoy his berries and Pine Apple free of someone else s acrid blasts 01 tobacco Furnes