European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - May 29, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 10 the stars and stripes columns George f. Will the unravelling of Ronald Reagan s foreign policy since 1917. The soviet Union has been a nation in which in Orwell s words yesterday s weather could be changed by decree. And was As a Way of explaining agricultural failures without reference to communism now fundamental change is said to be fool. But the criterion of such change should be an altered reduced status of the communist party. No such alteration is apparent. In fact Mikhail Gorbachev is affirming the parly s monopoly on interpretation by his use of today s two talismanic words. Perc Sirotka restructuring Means what the party says it Means and glasnost open Ness Means Freedom to criticize critics of per Astrolka. This As French scholar Alain Besancon notes in the meaning of Gorbachev s dictum that criticism must be conducted in the spirit of the on this Summit eve he crucial question is not what docs Gorbachev want to do to the soviet Union but what docs he want to do with the soviet Union of course he wants a More productive efficient Economy. But to what end and at what Cost to discipline imposed from above suppose the soviet aim is unchanged. Suppose in Aims to detach Germany from nato in order to de Tach Western Europe from the United Stales in order to achieve Victory in the irrepressible conflict Between two irreconcilable social systems. Would Gorbachev s behaviour be different than it is William f. Buckley would he not encourage the West with its techno logical virtuosity la relax would he not encourage Ihu by de emphasizing peripheral objective such Asaf Haniman and encouraging on ostensibly moral grounds the shift of military Competition from nuclear weapons to conventional forces the general stigmatization of nuclear weapons in which president Reagan has participated leads to the Prospect or conventional War fought in Germany. Besancon argues that he recent re orientation of soviet military doctrine toward non nuclear forces coincides with a longstanding predilection among some communist theorists. They argue that nuclear weapons distort the working of the Laws of history that govern changes in the correlation of forces. The Triumph of communism is supposed to come through Competition and conflict the outcome of which is to be determined by Broad attributes of rival social systems attributes that determine their abilities to marshal forces. But nuclear weapons enable any country possessing them to resist intimidation Disla by ligation and Conquest and to exercise influence Dis proportionate toils real social weight. Gorbachev s Genius is in orienting soviet a Juicy in Pursuit of unchanged Aims toward the exploitation of what Besancon Calls spontaneous Western Tenden one of which is Wishful thinking a tendency of Ronald Reagan when dealing with Domestic remember the Promise of self financing lax cuts As Well As foreign policy. Reagan is the ninth . President to meet with a soviet Leader. He is doing so for the fourth Lime. Re member four years ago when Waller Mondale Laboured to make much of the fact that Reagan was the first president since Franklin Roosevelt to go though a term without meeting he soviet Leader four years ego Many people considered Reagan a keeper of the cold War flame. Time lies. Seven and a half years ago soviet ambassador do Brynin now advising Gorbachev in Moscow welcomed the Reagan administration As. Potentially a reprise of the lost conservative Republican administration that of Richard Nixon the architect of detente. Reagan s administration has fulfilled hat potential. By making arms control every bit As much the Cen Ter piece president Carter s word of .-Sovicl relations As it was under Nixon Ford and Carter the Reagan administration generated the essence of de Tente the soothing thought that the soviet Union is a Normal slate seeking a modes Viv Endl. This led inevitably to the two emblematic events of the late Reagan Era the collapse of the contras and the unleashing of the Commerce department to do business better Tran usual with Moscow. The Pace of sum Mitry four summits in Ivy years is not unrelated to the unravelling of what was once thought to be Reagan s foreign policy. Bush wrong to differ with Reagan Over Noriega Okay Fellows that s a wrap everyone knows and this includes sen. Christopher Dodd of Connecticut which Means truly everyone that As a political matter George Bush has got to do something that is out of step with what Ronald Reagan does. What causes one to weep is his Choice of a Deal with Gen. Manuel Noriega As the parting Point Between the president and the vice pc Sidcot nominee Clell last week Bush said that i did not believe in bargaining with drug dealers whether on american or on foreign soil. That has to be the most fatuous statement on foreign policy since yester Day s speech by Jesse Jackson wherever it was whatever he said. It presupposes that the moral consider Sailles conference was quoted on television As flatly approving the proposed Deal. Whether this will gel him Ostra cued by the monks surrounding Dukakis Jackson one cannot Tell but in is refreshing to hear from a top Democrat that it a entirely possible to one disapprove of drugs As fervently As Mary Baker Eddy and two approve a possible Deal of Mutual interest with a drug runner according to the papers James Baker Secretary of the Treasury look the position Bush has taken in arguing with the president urging him to repudiate his opening to Noriega while George Shulli renewed his approval of dealing with Noriega. Meanwhile the slate department s Michael Kozak buzzes in and come out against Ronald Reagan s bargain the Caribbean nations join i n protesting ing with Mikhail Gorbachev on the any interference with Noriega on Chr a. Grounds that Bush does nol believe in bar Ami grounds that any ousting of Nonga gaining with any head of government Liml is it business of the panamanian peo a practices genocide suppresses free speech Pic. Not of Fth United slates. These Are and the practice of Rel on sends political the same Heads of state hat approved dissidents to Siberia sends weapons to Reagan s sending marines to Bush will need to come up with something else. One must assume that when the three men hush Baker. Shutlz were in the Oval office arguing with the president nol one Woid about the morality of the matter was actually spoken. Politics was almost surely on the table. It is interesting to speculate on what would be inc Public reaction to Bushes anti democratic forces throughout inc world and has 12,000 nuclear warheads aimed at places like Detroit no. If one wants to hang on to the moral Point one is left saying the United states should nol bargain with drug dealers unless they pos sess a nuclear bomb. But to dilute the moral statement by empirical Hedges invites the analyst to consider whether there arc other factors pledge to rescind the abm treaty if elected so that we can gel on with the than the Possession of a nuclear Capon Ness try a Sling Advance the define critical american interests i her answer to that is obviously yes and peace and quiet in the area surrounding the pan Ama canal is one of them. And that peace and quiet reasons Ronald Reagan is Worth quashing a couple of Florida indict s that Are in any Case purely of hypothetical value since Noriega would not in defense initiative. Howls of mortal pain from the democrats How can Bush bargain with apocalypse could be sex peeled. But framed in the proper Way the Issue is should the United Stales ment in route to Spain or saudi Arabia or wherever plan to Stop in Tampa. Now the principal democrats for obvious political reasons Are saying All the usual things about the iniquity of Reagan s proposal to Noriega. But nol All of them. Hear this Dodd whose prescriptions for Central America arc the nearest thing to diplomatic misjudge Mcnol since the Var take measures to try to protect itself a inst that tint smite that inc soviet Union can plausibly threaten once its own ski is in operation to take such measures does t mean we need to Dis courage glasnost and percs Loriks far from in. If the soviet Union gets around to disarming its offensive potential we should be ready for that Nappy development. If the soviet Union toes not get around to this we should also be ready
