European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - January 30, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 the stars and stripes saturday. January 30. 1988 James Kilpatrick speech on defense policy was a blockbuster jut to Gnu a the Hurrin no in Hal it Fenu one element in this equation of just about everyone in the Washington press corps count me in recently missed the most significant speech in months on . Defense policy. It Cameon Jan. 13 from Navy Secretary James h. Webb or. And was a blockbuster. Speaking Al the National press cub Webb urged a Complete rethinking of our defense posture around he world. Recalled upon our european allies to assume a far greater share of the defense of Europe implicitly he recommended a significant reduction of our own forces there. Turning to Asia he asked that Japan Lake Over Large obligations at sea. Looking Al our own hemisphere he provided ominous figures on the extent of soviet penetration. His message it Clear the United Stales is overcome milled. Our resources must be reallocated. Our friends must pick up a great part of a worldwide Burden. We have to assume that so important an address was cleared by defense Secre tary Frank Carluci and by the president himself. This was High policy enunciated from a Low level which is the Way things William Buckley prospered the Burden of global defense e element Thi equal on has drained both our economic and Mill piously must be the responsibility of the tar resources japanese As a fiend ally and world  to a res no Tutta Jar in in d a s3ss%&%%_,, ourself a that we re More a euro hot hey 0 mor. Orthis. Vor that in the aftermath .2.,us a m have an obligation Webb urged that we pay greater attainments the conventional f 0 ulv Siitam Hresil it Ion to of own hemisphere. The soviets will be larger and that to  isl a must maintain 7,600 military personnel in Cuba. E Structure there should a & to a Tofu in 1986 atone they  seed j600 minion often Are done around Washington. Listen to what Webb had to say we Are being told in no Uncertain terms and from Many different fronts that due to fiscal realities the . Military of the future must be smaller and More efficient. We Are also hearing quite frequently and with equal Fervour i of the inf agreements threat in Europe to conventional Force but Huic Ute Jiuu receive More emphasis. We also know and there is no question about this that our future As a nation is very closely lied to Asia in economic and political terms an that we must do a better Job of attending to the economic political and Security Issue sin our own hemisphere. And the overriding reality is that i should be obvious that a smaller United Stales military no matter How efficient cannot attend to All these mailers by  Webb called for a fish look Atour commitments everywhere. Since the end of world War to. Both our allies Ardour enemies have regained their strength. In this same period while they have vew a through More than a european prism. Just As Western Europe should take greater responsibility for its own defense so should our friends in Asia respond. Nastasia is an indispensable part four coun try s  it demands careful cultivation of alliances. The soviets have made great gains in the area. They now Nave award water port at Cam Ranh Bay Viet Nam where on any Given Day two Dow soviet ships May be seen. The soviet Mili tary buildup throughout the area is impressive 730,000 soviet troops 85 backfire bombers 2,500 combat aircraft two air Craft carriers an Arsenal of submarine launched nuclear missiles. Manakin 198 provided j60 Millio Worth of equipment for the marxist regimen Nicaragua. The cubans have sent �500 troops As Well. Webb concluded As he might have been expected to conclude with a ringing defense of the importance of sea Power in the coming Century. He is absolutely right on that score but put that Toone Side. The key Point is that the administration has accepted the reality of reductions in the budget for defense. Be cause we can do less to meet worldwide commitments our allies must do More. The alternative is to abandon the commitments and to let the soviets move in. Unus Fml p a san Dan Hart Nof amused by Chancellor s in fro duct on True that the presidential prelims Are full of evasions demagogy and blather but you do icam a Little about the character of our candidates so that it can be said that All a not lost in democratic epistemology. Consider for instance Gary Hart a behaviour when the democratic Candi dates met to debate under the Baton of John Chancellor. Chancellor is Learned cosmopolitan fluent and very Bright and in his introduction to Gary Hart he said Jock Early that Hart s re entry into the presidential race had raised the ques Tion will you love me in december a you did in May that was a very Nice Grace note and Thadda Yacknow. Hart re acted As though his virility had been questioned which is the last question anyone is asking about Gary Hart. He ran Down the Litany of Han enterprises inc. World peace world Prosperity interracial Harmony and growth and the said i should say or. Chancellor that s More important in people s mind than the questionable taste of your Intro  you walk away from that one wonder ing whether or Han has any sense of proportion. If to can be upset by a Chancellor quoting a line from an my Sona one wonders How a president Hart would react to the repetition of far More insistent lines by percussive soviet instruments. And then Bruce Babbitt of arizon Ahad a Nice Little temper flare when his credentials As a Democrat were challenged. What happened was that the subject was raised to would the democrats raise Money to reduce the deficit and to give everybody a free Telephone and Babbitt said that the Lime May have come for a National consumption lax. Albert Gore pounced a consumption Ian he said is a Republican idea. The finl consumption to i know of and my Mem Ory on the Mailer h finite was imposed in Greece at about inc time Socrates was drinking Hemlock but Babbitt chose to react its though his legitimacy was being questioned. He responded that nobody questioned my credentials As a Democrat when he was marching for civil rights in the South in the 1960s, which is a technique known to the rhetoricians As Lenny aug Elen Chi you accuse someone or being a wino and he responds that he never smoked cigarette in his entire life. During the weekend the candidates met a Cross Section of american voters by radio and television submit Ting to quc3 in from five families. The launch wobbled just a Little when it transpired that the fint woman to ask a ques Tion did t know what George Bush docs for a  George Bush might have answered the question wryly a Theodore Roosevelt once did when asked what on Earth a vice president did nothing but one does not safely venture into Sec sensonian  primary elections and no doubt or. Bush patiently explained that there Wasan office called vice president Etc., Etc. Though a Little wit is not entirety pro scribed it was nicely used by Albert Gore when he had to live through clone More recitation about How Michael Dukakis had saved the Economy of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts which he and his supporters like to calf the Dukakis  this  was once too Many for Al of who said i went to divinity school and they have a tougher definition of the word  nothing less less than a miracles going to straighten out the problems of Gary Rait who keeps running into the same old question Day after Day. Over the weekend one questioner asked Why would the american people want to put their Trust and Faith in your ability and judgment to which or. Hart responded with a Tine no doubt practice Andre practice before his staff that s Why i tried my very Best As a human being Tolive As Good a life As i could. Not a life without error but As Good As i  s hand to put up a Christian Block on that one since we Are All sinners though not All of us strive to be president. The most serious Exchange that sifted Paul Simon. The questioner wanted to know if Simon would order an immedi ate retaliatory strike in the event soviet missiles were detected approaching the United slates Simon did his Best to avoid that  rattled on about de escalation and disarmament and avoiding an arms  the questioner persisted you really did t answer the question he said. I  Simon replied Andy answer is that no responsible Candi Date can answer what Ift to  or. Simon has it quite wrong. No responsible candidate can answer that he would decline to retaliate against soviet nuclear aggression. Because any ambiguity on the Point has the effect of unilateral nuclear disarmament which leaves us wondering whether we can Tove Simon  in january As we did in May. Unm Rul Fotu Syntell