European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - January 16, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Monday january 16, 1989 the stars and stripes Page 3 110 people die As trains collide in Bangladesh Dhaka Bangladesh up two packed trains collided head on South of Dhaka on sunday leaving an estimated 110 passengers dead and an additional 2,500 injured in Bangladesh s worst rail disaster officials said. Officials said they were investigating whether human error or a new digital railway switching system caused the crash Between an express train and a local train near fungi 40 Miles North of the capital. Communications minister Anwar Hussain said 81 bodies had been recovered from the site. Rescue officials estimated that an additional 350 people remained trapped inside or beneath the wreckage of six destroyed train cars. Rescuers reported about 2,500 passengers were injured but said it was difficult to get an accurate toll because Many had walked to nearby villages. It was the country s worst rail Accident with the death toll exceeding a 1984 train fire that left 98 peo ple dead and More than 200 injured near the Western town of Jefford. President Mohammed Hussain Ershad visited the Accident site. He ordered the army to take Over the Rescue operation and officers said they planned to use cranes to lift the derailed compartments and extract the dead. Officials said about 2,000 people were aboard each train Many non paying riders perched on the roofs of carriages when the intercity Urmi express travelling from Dhaka slammed into a local train heading for the capital from the Southern port of Chittagong. A Back on solid ground Captain Pietersen left had Good reason to smile saturday he and the rest of his Crew had just been rescued from the 30-foot Waves of the Atlan tic by . Helicopter Crews. Pietersen s ship the bulk Ore Carrier Yar Awonga suffered Large gashes in the Stormy Ocean forcing the two Mh-53j helicopters from Raf Woodbridge to Fly to the Crew s Rescue. After being plucked from the listing cypriot ship the Crew was taken to Shannon air port Ireland. 2 Arab youths killed by soldiers in territories Jerusalem a two palestinian teen agers died sunday after clashes wit israeli soldiers and troops Tore Down a Stone pile memorial to a slain israeli tax Driver in a confrontation with jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank. The latest palestinian deaths bring to six the number of Arab youths killed by army gunfire in three Days. All of the victims were 18 or younger one was a 12-year-old girl. Arab Hospital officials said two pales Tinian youths also were shot an wounded sunday in a Village near a Mallah in the West Bank but a military spokesman said the army could Only con firm one injury. Palestinians staged a general strike throughout the occupied territories responding to a leaflet calling for a strike and an escalation of anti israeli violence to Honor the Al Asa mosque in East Jerusalem s walled old City a holy site to moslem. The palestinians Are rebelling against israeli Rule in the occupied territories captured by the jewish nation from neighbouring Arab countries during the 1967 Middle East War. At least 357 palestinians have Bee killed since the uprising began in Decem Ber 1987. Fifteen israelis including taxi Driver Shmuel Edri also have died. Edri s Brothers and Sisters supported by dozens of militant jewish settlers who. Live in the occupied West Bank renewed a confrontation with the army sunday Over a memorial to the dead Man that they first built wednesday. The settlers who received government incentives to move to the occupied Terri tories have accused the army throughout the revolt of failing to protect them from Arab attacks. The army opposes the Monument be cause the military bars settlers from con ducting any activities outside their communities without their permission. Tower foresees Tough choices on manpower from Page 1 Tough to win compensation concessions from Congress and probably will have to make cuts that affect person Nel accounts in other ways either through Active duty end strength or operations and maintenance spending. The big question in t whether Tower will be supportive of personnel. I m sure he will but the question is whether he can sell it to the budget conscious con Gress said Mack Mckinney legislative counsel for the non commissioned officers association a Mili tary lobbying organization. Mckinney said Tower May not have been As forceful As some of his colleagues in military personnel when he was chairman of the Senate armed services committee from 1980 to 1984, but his support was there. He s been a Navy enlisted reservist so he know the situation Mckinney said. I be found him to be sympathetic to us Over the years in most things involving military  Tony Principi we handled manpower issues for Tower As an aide with the Senate armed services committee in the Early 1980s, said Tower traditionally would support any issues brought to his level by the manpower subcommittee. We had landmark pieces of military personnel legislation in those years said Principi now a Californi lawyer. We had two huge pay raises hikes in All kinds of other benefits and entitlements military Justice re form. Tower supported every policy that could conceivably improve recruiting and  the congressional staff member said Tower was firm in his support for the average 14 percent raise for fiscal 1983 that was targeted to the grades that Nee edit most. Other lawmakers notably sen. John Glenn d Ohio have since been advocating targeted raises As a Way to make scarce dollars go farther. But a former Pentagon official was More cautious in his assessment of Tower. I never got much of a fix on him in the manpower area said or. Lawrence Korb director of the Center for Public policy education at the Brookings Institute a Washington think tank. Korb was the Pentagon s manpower chief from 1981 to 1985. I did t find him strongly opposed to or supportive of personnel programs pay raises and benefits kor said. He did t seem to have a lot of interest in that area. But i never knew him to be an  yet Tower did not sound keen on protecting person Nel when he spoke on the television show face the nation on dec. 24. During that program he seemed to indicate that he would Rule out deep cuts in military hardware Toji Elp trim the budget deficit. Instead he alluded to further cutbacks in the 2.1 million member Active duty Force on top of a reduction of 40,000 last year the largest one year draw Down since the Vietnam War. The big Cost is not in hardware Tower said. The big Cost is in personnel. Fifty percent of our budget goes for people. We re going to have to face some Tough  but Korb Drew a distinction Between cutting people and cutting benefits. While personnel accounts Are be loved by congressional budget cutters because the yield immediate savings compared to multiyear procurement programs Korb said he does t expect Tower to have a heavy hand when it comes to holding Down increases in compensation and benefits. After our experience in the 70s with the hollow army no one least of All Tower wants to lower Force Quality by cutting benefits and driving Good people away he  congressional staff member agreed. I Don t doubt that if the Choice came to cutting people or cutting benefits for the people you have he d Cut peo ple he said. Tower would t be afraid to address Force Structure reductions if that was required. If budget problems necessitate taking dollars from personnel then he would do it by keeping fewer people but ensuring that  Are kept Are supported and paid  Korb said his fear is that cuts will come in other fast spending accounts such As operations arid maintenance which translates into readiness in terms of flying hours ammunition spare parts and training time. I think we All recognize the Large portion of the military budget that s taken up by manpower Principi said. It s goes without saying that there will be continued scrutiny in that area As part of the drive to reduce the deficit. But i Don t think for a minute that John Tower would in any Way favor cutbacks in compensation. I feel very strongly about  another area that Tower May scan As a potential targe for cuts one that could directly affect the military Quality of life is construction and renovation of facilities including Barracks family housing and morale Wel fare and recreation facilities Korb said. That s always an attractive area for cutbacks be cause a lot of people see that As secondary to the main military Mission which is obviously preparing to fight a War Korb said. But Overall i Don t think service members have much to worry about from John Tower in terms of pay raises housing allowances reassignment Money and the like. I think hell follow the course that s been taken Over the past few years in that there May be cuts in end strength but there will be reasonable annual increase sin pay and benefits although maybe not As much As some people would