European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - January 29, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 28 the stars and stripes sunday january 29,1989 residents of West Germany Are Only getting a hazy notion of Winter this year and the town of Albach undergoing a hazing just East of Giessen was one of the Many areas that spent Friday in a fog. For a Clear look at what s is Dave Didio ahead for today and tomorrow turn to the forecast on Page 2. News briefs laotian . Officials discuss Fate of 547 mias Bangkok Thailand a Laos and the United states held a cordial two Day meeting on the Fate of 547 americans listed As missing in action in Laos a . Embassy official said saturday. Harriet Isom charge d affaires of the american embassy in Laos declined to disclose the details in a Telephone interview from Bangkok. The meeting ended Friday she said. Laos stale radio said earlier that the two sides would discuss their plan to resolve the Mia Issue and . Humanitarian Aid to the Southeast asian nation. 2 Navy aviators die in Al 4 crash in Ariz. Ely Ariz. A a Navy f-l4 Jet fighter crashed Friday in a Cotton Field and the Navy said both aviators were killed. Identities of the Pilot and the radar intercept officer were withheld pending notification of relatives. The cause of the crash near Eloy is under investigation said Petty officer Barbara Vega a Navy spokeswoman in san Diego. The plane was assigned to Squadron vf-114 at Nas Miramar 10 Miles North of san Diego she said. Overseas bases cutback suggested by Schroeder Cleveland up rep. Patricia Schroeder d colo., said the Federal deficit can be reduced by cutting the number of military bases overseas and allowing some allies such As Japan and West Germany to pay for their own defences. Speaking Friday during a City club forum Schroeder said it no longer makes sense to have a Large military presence in nations that can afford to pay for their own defense the Cleveland Plain dealer reported. She said $ 18 billion is expected to be spent in the current budget for new military construction and West Germany would get the second largest amount of Money after California. Nato from Page 1 have an obligation to their populations to take advantage of any Opportunity to reduce military tension in Europe. Recent announcements that the soviet Union intends to Cut both its military personnel and defense budget have Given Many westerners the perception that the soviet threat has been dramatically reduced Scholz noted. Our population feels More and More secure. The awareness of threat is waning he said. This is not a deplorable state of affairs since it demonstrates in fact the soundness of our Security policy which reduces or is at least Able to contain the Western Europe and the soviet Union have however a Long Way to go before they can become the common european Home described by soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev Scholz said. A common european Home leaving the United states outside a common european Home lacking real Freedom democracy and self determination. Founded on the Berlin Wall and the shoot to kill order at the Intra Ger Man Border Are not and will never be acceptable to us Scholz said. While striving to improve relations with the soviets and seeking negotiated military reductions Western Lead ers must realize that the possibilities for economic cooperation Between Western Europe and the soviet Union exist As never before if nato remains flexible he said. What we continue to need without change is a consolidated Security policy Scholz said. We need an open policy of detente and we need realistic politics which carefully follow the developments in the soviet Union and other Warsaw pact not All the changes affecting the Alliance come from the outside Scholz noted. Such issues As modernization of nuclear forces and Burden sharing can also threaten to Divide members. While Scholz said he saw ways to reduce nuclear forces particularly artillery he did not propose unilateral elimination of Short Range nuclear forces adding that such weapons should be kept up to British foreign Secretary sir Geoffrey Howe also added a cautious note about nato s approach to the soviets. We All want the thaw to continue. Yet we must not confuse Hopes or even expectations with reality Howe said. In unscheduled remarks after the defense minister s address sen. John Mccain r-Ariz., accused Scholz and other top officials in Bonn of knowing since the Early 1980s" that German firms were contributing to countries producing chemical and biological weapons. Let me also be Blunt Mccain said. I know that the West German government is also denying that it knew what was going on in Libya and that its foreign minister Hans Dietrich Genscher is claiming to be shocked by what has happened. The problem with these statements is that it seems increasingly apparent that the West German government first denied what it already knew to be the truth and that it has known for half a decade that West German firms have been assisting nations like Iraq to produce chemical weapons. Is it conceivable Mccain asked that the . Intelligence data that was provided to West Germany did not reach the foreign minister is it conceivable that the West German government really made the efforts it promised to make to investigate what was happening and to halt such proliferation Scholz called the allegation unfair and said his country had vigorously pursued its investigation of West German firms implicated in contributing to chemical weapons production. He said he and other West German officials including Chancellor Helmut Kohl and Genscher first received information about German firms contributing to a suspected libyan chemical Plant during a visit to the United states on nov. 15. He said that the information was a Shock to All of us and that Bonn officials immediately asked for More pre Cise information on the Plant and the involvement of West German firms. We reacted rapidly very rapidly he said. John Tower the . Defense Secretary designate took no part in the discussion. He was scheduled to speak sunday. Meanwhile the foreign ministry in Bonn said sat urday that Genscher has written to . Secretary of state James Baker proposing that the two men Confer on How to prevent Libya from producing chemical weapons the associated press reported. Sen. John Glenn a Ohio warned that rapidly Chang ing views of the German people pose a serious threat to nato and called on the Bonn leadership to address this Issue a said. He referred to recent polls showing that most West germans sense no serious threat from the East bloc and 80 percent support removal of All nuclear weapons from Europe a reported Senate from Page 1 such a conflict and that she would keep hands off any cases involving her former clients. However a witness who appeared briefly before the committee Anthony Harrigan president of the . Business and Industrial Council argued that the nominee s involvement with foreign clients made it impossible for her to avoid a conflict. Several lawmakers took Issue with him. Hills told the committee that she would prefer to open foreign markets with negotiations and a handshake. But she added that she would seek to do so with a crowbar if retaliation cannot be the goal of our policy she said. In fact it signals the failure to open foreign markets. But the credible threat of retaliation provides essential leverage in our Market opening efforts. Thus actual retaliation will be used albeit reluctantly to preserve the credibility of this she discussed Complex Trade issues ranging from plywood exports to euro Pean government subsidies for the air bus industries jetliner manufacturer. Hills supporters have assured Law makers that she has the toughness to rep resent America in difficult Trade Battles. Make no mistake said sen. Pete Wilson r-calif., this is a gentle lady but this lady has the guts of a her Tough minded style found encouragement among committee members. Sen. Max Baucus d-mont., said he found a touch of naivete in Bush s vow to work for a Kinder and gentler America. The world is not necessarily Kinder and More gentle when it comes to International Trade Baucus said. There s a state of near economic
