European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 10, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 10 the stars and stripes columns William Safire in Why is Bush eager to help a Butcher of Baghdad Saddam Hussein widely feared As the a Butcher of Baghdad Quot declared a school Holiday last saturday to swell the crowds ordered to demonstrate in front of the British embassy. The dictator took offence because Margaret thatchers government dared to protest a As a an act of barbarism deeply repugnant to All civilized people a his hanging of a reporter for the London observer. A mrs. Thatcher wanted him alive we gave her the body a crowed the iraqi propaganda minister after the remains were turned Over to the British embassy in Baghdad. The accredited journalist Farzad a soft had heard reports of an explosion at a Plant to the Southwest of iraqis capital. Reporters were denied permission to investigate. Suspecting trouble at one of iraqis Poison Gas or missile plants in that area the reporter disguised himself and went anyway. He was caught tried As a spy and promptly hanged. Not All the people of the civilized world found the Lynching repugnant a a moderate King Hussein of Jordan no relation to Saddam Hussein deplored a a concerted attack on Iraq for a Long period of time without any reason to justify Arab apologists Are busily trying to be smear the victim Bazot had a prison record in his Early 20s, was stateless confessed to spying under the always gentle iraqi interrogation Etc. The plots Salah Khalef broadcast support of iraqis Gleeful Leader. Hussein sent no demonstrators to the . Embassy for Good reason the Bush administrations reaction was of such studied indifference As to Border on condoning the assassination. President Bush refused to join in the worldwide appeals for clemency. After the hanging the presidents spokesman Marlin Fitzwater said Only that a we regret those appeals went unheeded. But we done to have a lot of details on the Case . Rosenthal i Ali plats a a a a it at the state department our rip a read spokeswoman Margaret Tutwiler read a we deplore iraqis decision a but when asked what our government intended to do about it went into her usual flustered state a i did not think to ask. A a couple of questions we should All ask a what terrible secret was the journalist trying to uncover Bush knows from the same satellite observation that showed Poison Gas production at Libya s rata Plant that Hussein is producing Poison Gas at 10 different locations. Some of that Gas was used in the iranian War some in killing thousands of iraqi kurd. Three months ago Iraq launched a three stage 48-ton rocket demonstrating its missile capability. Was the damaged Plant producing Gas rockets or nuclear weapons a Why is Bush so eager to help the dictator of what has become the worlds most dangerous nation when the con Gress identified Iraq As a terrorist nation to be denied . Favor Bush invoked an exception enabling him to ignore this ruling Quot in the National that a Why Iraq still gets loan guarantees from us on Grain purchases. The Atlanta Branch of Italy a Bank of Lavoro scandalously slipped $3 billion in financing to Iraq in a Deal being laconically prosecuted by our Justice department. A even after the scandal broke and our agriculture Secretary promised a Senate committee no new loan guarantees would be issued without notification Secretary Clayton Yeutter supplied an additional $500 million guarantee when these fishy dealings were outlined in this space with wonderment at Bush a needless exposure of . Taxpayers the iraqi press Counselor in Washington Abdul Rahman Jamil wrote to my editor to insist our Aid was used for Grain not missiles explaining a it is not uncommon to expect delays of payments in financial that tipped off future repayment problems. A emr. Safire ought to be reminded a Jamil added a that a Little knowledge is dangerous and he is using this knowledge a colleague cheerily passed this along with a Hope you weren to planning a Holiday in i did not take Jamiles reminder to be intimidation noting it Only As a mis quotation of Alexander Popes a a Little learning is a dangerous so now they re hanging foreign journalists in Iraq and nobody in the Bush administration gives a Damn. Bush ignores this state murder allows the . To become dependent on Arab Oil while Hussein urges open to raise prices and keeps guaranteeing Loans to the country that spends billions on Mustard Gas and missiles. In what National interest what hold does the Butcher of Baghdad have on the president of the United states c new York time Bush should admit error reverse China policy in offices All through George Bush a administration Are men and women totally committed to him affectionate and admiring but who yearn for him to Lake the one step that National leaders find most difficult of All. That is to do at least once in Public life what every intelligent human being must do throughout his private life concede an error and change course. At this moment there Are at least three leaders who Are entwined in mistakes that they refuse to Correct. Day by Day Mikhail Gorbachev a policy of pressuring Lithuania by using Force and threatening More Force diminishes Confidence that he will Ever Deal fairly with those nationalities that feel trapped in the soviet Union and want to get out. In London Margaret Thatcher clings to a weird head tax that allows the poorest person in town the right of paying the same amount for Public services As the richest. It has caused the worst British riots in decades and threatens her achievements and her party a hold on office. In Washington Bush cannot admit what so Many of his friends in Congress and the administration have been saying for months appeasement of communist China has failed and should be abandoned. So the damage continues a to his own reputation and the future of a people for whom he says he has a Strong attachment. The Bush policy of trying to placate the top leadership of the chinese communist party is almost a year old a As old As the massacre that ended student demonstrations in Beijing. From the beginning that policy was despised in Congress which he knows. As time goes on it is opposed by More people within his own administration which Given the tendency of officials not to upset any president too much perhaps he does not know. The reasons he gave in the beginning Are history. He promised us that being Nice to the communist leaders dealing with them at a High level promising economic goodies would persuade them to ease off on their own people persuade them to try decent discourse with dissenters. It has not happened. The decision to a a lift martial Law was a farce. Under martial Law in a tyranny lies just More martial Law. Americans find that difficult to get through their Heads. The chinese leaders did not react to kindness with kindness. They reacted with a kick in the american Shin. The speeches of people like prime minister i Peng get nastier and nastier about the intention to eliminate remnants of Freedom and about foreigners who might object. Everything that appeasement was supposed to accomplish has been disdainfully rejected. No Beijing will not Stop Selling missiles to the Middle East. No Beijing will not let Fang Lizhi the dissident who took Refuge in the american embassy leave the country. No Beijing will not cease persecution of intellectual dissent. The opposite. Some students found out that they will be sent to work on the farms before being allowed to open College textbooks. This will be a hard Spring for the chinese people As the anniversary of the june massacre approaches. Beijing is nervous. Nobody is As mean As a nervous bully. In Washington members of Congress will resume the fight against the appeasement policy. There will be hearings on whether the chinese communists Are illegally Selling convict made goods to this country. The chinese communist privilege of receiving most favored nation Export tariffs will be questioned. It seems to be fearfully difficult for an american president to concede a policy is wrong and change n. Apparently whatever makes a Man president prevents him from saying he is Ever wrong a not a Comfort no thought. Historians who were consulted could not i e an example of that happening. A a a the reasons probably Are fear of repercussion an loss of Pride and face. But the chinese Lea jers1,.p not do much More to its people without bringing another rebellion or be More rude and rejecting to i United that As for loss of face Bush can find out How false fear is. All he has to do is invite everybody Ini is administration who opposes his chinese pol y come Forward and speak his mind frankly. H need a bigger office. The i think they might convince him that if he s y Era of appeasement is Over and Speaks and opposition to Beijing a repression his face w brighter than Ever. And there he will be in the history books the president who knew a mistake when one even if it was his own. C new York times
