European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 26, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 the stars and stripes columns . Carlisle . Trost soviets know Navy is the key to . Strength the following article was submitted to the paper by the office of the chief of naval operations with a note asking that we consider it for use on our of cd opposite editorial Page. We feel it deserves publication. De. As the soviet Union continues to make proposals about cutting conventional forces a new wrinkle has been added. During his most recent visit to the United states marshal Sergei Fakhro Mayev soviet president Mikhail Gorba Chev s senior military adviser said mos cow might not sign any agreement reducing conventional forces in Europe unit is l a civil cd exults so Russ to open talks on reducing its naval forces. We must Analyse such a proposal with much care. Although we Welcome the lessened tensions that characterize the current global political climate we must be careful to avoid actions whose consequences May be injurious to the Long term political and economic health of both our country and our allies As Well As to Many other nations that of Pond on us to assure the peace. One key fact underlies any argument against cutting . Naval forces the United states is a maritime nation whose dependence on the seas is the bed Rock of . Political and economic Secu Rity. For the United states world Trade routes arc vital links a lifeline to other nations. The Trade routes we use Exchange More than $600 billion Worth of our country s annual exports and imports. Carl Rowan the materials and products shipped by sea directly Impact our lives. Some Are the products of the american Farmer worker or Miner. In return some arc the products on which we. As a nation of Consumers have come to rely imported autos  recorders televisions Home computers Etc. And some too. Arc materials that arc essential to our Industrial might and strategic Security but not available naturally in our country. A few examples arc tin chromium manganese Ore and Beryl All items either totally or almost totally imported. And of course we now import 42 percent of our Oil a figure that can be couple these realities with the fact that As a nation our vital interests arc expressed in a web of 47 treaties and alliances with binding coalitions for Mutual defense. These relationships together with commercial dependencies that evolve from them and which support our Economy shape our National Security objectives. Stated simply our global commitments set the environment in which we live work and Prosper. And the sea is what ties us our allies and our friends together and makes our relationships viable. The soviet Union on the other hand is a self sufficient land Power with no dependence on the seas for its economic survival. Whatever resources it needs arc available indigenously or from Warsaw pact allies who directly adjoin the soviet landmass. Consequently the reason for soviet interest in limiting the size of the . Navy is apparent. It is the Navy that ensures the ability of free nations to use the sea and to Prosper in a Multi Point interdependent world. The . Navy is a Strong contributor to our National defense strategy. To exe cute this strategy properly and to protect our global interests and commitments we have Learned from hard experience that our National interests arc Best served by a Forward strategy. This Means a glob ally deployed Navy ready to contain problems before they Start and to deter potential adversaries from challenging free use of the oceans. Our presence indic in Ivan  a prime  of How our Navy by being on the scene sent a Clear message and brought stability to a War torn Region and kept the Oil flowing. This Forward posture a deterrent posture has kept global peace for nearly 45 years keeping conflicts Iso lated to local regions. So one might ask Why the soviet Union is demanding reductions in our naval forces the very same forces that have been so successful in doing exactly what the soviets supposedly arc striving for achieving global peace How do we reconcile this question when we Sec the soviets a self sufficient land Power continuing to build new warships of every class at rates exceeding any reason Able defensive need aircraft carriers submarines cruisers destroyers and Frig ates the soviets As advertised arc indeed retiring older difficult to maintain ships. But this Effort will simply allow them to focus their resources material and human on new and very capable ships and aircraft. Make no mistake about it. The qualitative capability of the soviet Navy is increasing even if their numerical advantage diminishes. How also do we reconcile the fact that the soviets continue to support third world surrogates with the most sophisticated military hardware continuing arms deliveries to Libya North Korea Cuba Iraq. Nicaragua and Afghanistan seem inconsistent at Best with Public proclamations of a defensive strategy. There Are Many pundits caught up in the euphoria of the moment who advocate proceeding As if the future holds Only the certainty of peace. We must consider a longer View. All that is certain about the future is that it will Challenge us from Many quart ers we May not now fully appreciate. If we arc to be prepared to meet those Chal Lenges far from our shores a Navy unrestricted in its mobility and capability a potent unfettered Force free to operate on Distant seas is something we Sim ply cannot do without. Only an experienced and ready Navy will have the capability of responding As we have in the recent past to the wide spectrum of threats borne on winds of technological and Geo political change. Adm. Trost is chief of Nival operations violence from drug dealers is no Distant threat a so you think think it s terrible to live in Washington d.c., where the old murder a Day record was part of the Good limes or in new York where gelling on a subway or elevator can be hazardous or los Angeles where you can be killed randomly by an angry member of a youth gang who is upset Clauc the freeway you re driving Down is in a Sto Len Section of what was his drugs turf Well you Ain t seen nothing  How would you like to live in Bogota Colombia where presidential candidate Luis Carlos Galan was shot by drug traffickers during a political rally where Days earlier magistrate Carlos Valencia Garcia was shot to death Only hours after rejecting the appeals of two Medellin drug Cartel members or in Medellin Colombia itself where members of the infamous drug Cartel boast that they fatally shot col. Waldemar Franklin Quintero the 36-year-old police commander who had led several raids on Cartel operations seized tons of cocaine and arrested several Medellin drug Crooks Colombia is a grotesque frightening example of what can happen if drug Czar William bin not and president Bush do not come up with an effective plan to fight inc drug Scourge in America. Imagine being a judge dealing with a Slimy dope peddle knowing that if you punish him appropriately you could walk out of your courtroom into a fusillade of bullets fired by other drug peddling vermin. Some so judges in Colombia the source of perhaps 80 per cent of the cocaine sold in the United Stales have been killed by drug distributors. Some 4,000 judges and magistrates in Colombia have gone on strike demanding better Protection. An other 48 magistrates in Bogota s Superior court have said to hell with it and resigned. It s terrifying what s happening in Colombia said Justice minister Monica do Gruiff who resigned last week. It s also terrifying what s happening in Rural Georgia Small town Virginia new Orleans Mary land s suburban Montgomery county and Omaha neb. The Nice people of America the so called casual users Are Tonying up so much Money for cocaine crack heroin marijuana and other drugs Hal the car less peddling this dope will kill almost anybody who gets in the Way of profits. The casual purchasers of joints crack and Coke Don t believe that they Are feeding a Monsier Hal could devour America. They think the drug lords Only assassinate judges kill police maim presidential candidates in places like Colombia Panama Bolivia and Points far away. They ignore he reality that drug related murders Are increasing every year in America and the Threal 10 those who oppose inc drug mar chants As policemen judges journalists or whatever has become Over whelming. Could our big Gisl civics become Gogolas cowering and sick under the tyranny of murderous drug Syndi Cates yes. And sooner than most of us can imagine unless the Bush bin Natl anti drug plan turns out to Bemore than Tough talk smoke and mirrors budgetary Bull a tune in to next years pc sch gambit. If Colombia does t scare All of us into embracing a no nonsense drug policy we might As Well wave a White Flag and accept the dark dark Days thai lie ahead. North America Syndicate