European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - February 28, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 columns . Rosenthal the stars and stripes  a Suraf on must Nof abandon afghan rebels there is still time for president Reagan to make sure that a great Victory in the making docs not be come a tragedy. But not much time. The soviet Union has agreed in theory to pull its troops out of Afghanistan. This can be a smashing political military and moral Triumph for the afghan resistance fighters for Pakistan which gave them ref Uge for a decade and for a Strong bipartisan american policy of military and economic support to the Resis Tance. But there is a critical debate taking place in Washington to which neither the president nor the country has paid enough attention. It did not rate a presiden tial mat ement or even a question at his news Confer ence. The debate in Congress the state and defense departments the White House and among intelligence specialists is not among political caricatures War minded kooks and Mushy headed peace Niks. On both sides Are rational people who Range from mildly Radical to devotedly conservative. The heart of the debate is this still the pullout moan that afghans will be Able to choose their own government or is the soviet Union planning and the . Falling for a withdrawal plan that will keep Moscow s puppet Golf in mint in Power in Kabul ? two specific questions arc involved. Will the . Cut Oil Aid to the resistance while Moscow openly or covertly supplies the Kabul communist regime with arms and economic assistance should the . Accept the soviet determination to leave the Kabul regime intact and in Power after the pullout. Or should we insist on an interim government in which the afghan resistance which fought not Only against the russians but their Kabul satellites has a dominant role As the fruit of its Victory in Congress and the administration there is a Strong inclination to make the pullout Deal quickly to insure soviet troop withdrawal. As for Aid cutoffs they say we will make the Best Deal possible. It does t matter that much anyway once the red army is out the Kabul regime will soon be torn apart by the afghan resistance. But there arc also congressmen and specialists con Vinced that the administration s eagerness for agreements with the russians can turn an anti communist Victory into a communist Triumph. They believe it is naive self deluding and pan tingly optimistic to assume Moscow will not keep up the struggle for Afghanistan. So do 1. The russians will leave behind a Well armed Kabul government that will fight from fortified cities. Moscow will keep supplying the afghan communists after we Cut off Aid to the resistance. The resistance forces will indeed Triumph Over Kabul one Day. But we owe it to them and our selves not to leave them with a slap on the Back an very Best wishes As they face More years of War against a soviet backed Kabul government. There is confusion and double talk about what the United states has promised or hinted at. In a Day or two the president will get a letter from at least 29senators of almost every political shading urging him to step in and Clear things up. They want him to make sure himself that Aid to the resistance is not Cut off until All soviet troops leave Afghanistan and Moscow ceases Aid to Kabul. The letter is signed by conservative republicans like Gordon j. Humphrey of new Hampshire one of the strongest backers of the resistance and Strom thur mond of South Carolina. It also has the signatures of democrats Daniel Patrick Moynihan of new York and Christopher Dodd of Connecticut. Alfonso d Amato of new York and Malcolm Wallop of Wyoming re publicans have signed Anh so have the democrats Joseph Biden of Maryland and Dennis Deconcini of Arizona. So it is now up to the president to Call a meeting of the National Security Council find out what has Bee committed and decide what he is willing to stand by. But Thal s not enough. The next round of talks starts in Geneva on March i. The agreements should be made Public before the United Stales commits its Power and Honor to them. The . Need not agree with the resistance on every Point nor satisfy every demand. But at least the presi Dent should pay attention to the last sentence in the letter he will be gelling from the senators of both Par lies we have no right to endanger the gains inc afghans have made at a terrible Price to i hair  then let s hear from the president fully openly and soon. Secret diplomacy is now unjustified. Whatever Washington cells the russians is exactly what it should Tell inc afghans pakistanis and americans. In a vex a to twi Tom Wicker super tuesday Rafes More than limited coverage lbs news and Abc news have offered an unconvincing reason for something they have every right to do reduce their prime time coverage of inc results of super tuesday voting. Spokesmen for the networks said they would do so because caucuses and primaries in 20 Stales that Day. March 8. Would not be definitive Abc but would produce muddled results lbs. The first obvious question to be asked about that is 1 Low do they know .1 the networks May think they know from various polls and prognostications that suggest no candidate will Clinch either party s presidential nomination that Day. Maybe they re right but polls and prognostications can be wrong even grievously wrong. That was shown just recently in new Hampshire where inc Gal Lup poll was off by 17 Points in ils prediction of the Dole Bush results. The second obvious question is even if the networks have guessed right what difference should it make the answer is none to a news organization. But in s nol hard to Sec what the networks really decided thai since March 8 would nol provide As big a Story As hoped it would nol attract As Many viewers or ratings As High a expected. But a news organization s business is to cover what happens whatever it May be and in the Long run muddled or less than definitive results on March 8might be just As important to the presidential Campaign As a runaway in some other circumstance. In that Light. The two networks decision to Cut Back May be seen by a lot of americans As an example of the arrogance with which the Media Are so often charged. Well decide in Advance those spokesmen seemed to be saying whether a Story i important enough to warrant our full attention if we Don t think so it won t get it. That of course is an editorial judgment and any news organization has not just a right but a duty to make such decisions. This one is nevertheless wrongheaded and looks More like ratings pressure than news judgment for one thing. Super tuesday primaries and caucuses will be held in 20 Stales. How by any stretch of editorial Wisdom can thai be less important than the caucuses of about 200.000 political activists in Iowa How can even muddled results from 20 slates including big ones like Texas and Florida count for less than the new Hampshire primary for another thing whatever else it May be. Super tues Day is a virtually unprecedented Experiment with a regional primary since 14 of the Stales involved Are in the South and most of these Stales arranged their voting lobe part of the regional Experiment. However super tuesday turns out the idea could prove important to inc future of presidential campaigns and for thai reason alone War Ranis Al least the coverage the networks lavished on Iowa and new Hampshire. The editorial judgment to pull Back on super tues Day coverage also raises the uncomfortable question of Why the networks did t make similar decisions about less important elections in Iowa and new Hampshire. Most news organizations print As Well As broadcast Justi fied their glorification of these opening rounds on grounds that they came first editors and broadcasters had no real Choice but to satisfy viewers and readers supposed de mands for saturation coverage. But the decision to reduce coverage of super tuesday Demon Shrales that news organizations can make Independent judgments when they want to. So a few weeks ago did the networks decision nol to broadcast president Reagan s address the night before the Contra Aid vote in the House. Nothing therefore is inevitable or foreordained about the kind of overblown coverage extended to Iowa and new Hampshire news organizations could if they would keep reports on those Stales voting in sensible proportion. Instead they magnified these Minic vents into super events that were All too decisive. Nol the least because Paul Simon finished a few thousand votes behind Richard Gephardt in Iowa which Means virtually nothing in a National perspective Simon lost again in new Hampshire. The magnitude of the coverage of these results neither of which should have been definitive dried up his contributions framed him As a loser in Only two Small Stales and probably doomed his Campaign. Similarly lurid news coverage of pal Robertson s second place finish in Iowa where caucuses were susceptible to his packing tactics made a serious Candi Date of a television evangelist with Little to offer but a plastic smile and a dangerously flapping Tongue. So restrained news coverage a few weeks ago might have reflected Tough editorial judgment for super tuesday in looks More like a convenience to the incl works