European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 17, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 a the stars and stripes Jim Fain Bush on hostages is calling a Spade a nosegay Iran and Syria left their fingerprints All Over the bombing of pan am flight 103 Over Scotland in december 1988. Painstaking detective work showed the atrocity was committed by Ahmed Jibril of the popular front for the liberation of Palestine. Jibril lives in Syria and was paid of by Iran. You Don t hear much about this from president Bush who recently lavished thanks on both countries for arranging the release of two . Hostages. Why because he s trying to Spring the 15 remaining hostages. Jibril s men hold some of these and All the terrorist groups Are intertwined. Bush says he will not Deal for hostages. That a not True. He has an offer on the table. What he Means is mindful of what happened to Ronald Reagan he wont Haggle. He proffered a Deal in his inaugural when he said a Goodwill begets  in Diplomat speak that said to Iran a if you free the hostages. Ill normalize relations unfreeze your assets and end the  it said to Syria a if you facilitate the release Well Lake you Oft the terrorist list and give you a voice in Middle East  since then he a sweetened the offer by leaning on Israel to release 400 or so shiite prisoners including Sheik Obid whom Israel kidnapped last year. This w Ould meet the Long time demand of Jibril a front. Israel freed 700 arabs in a similar Deal in 1986 in Exchange for 40 americans taken in the Twa hijacking. It would cooperate again if the terrorists would include in the Deal three israelis held in Lebanon. Israel seized Obid explicitly for the purpose of ran soming these soldiers. To claim in such circumstances that we will not a Deal Quot is absurd. Bush admitted As much probably unintentionally when asked what head do to secure the hostages release. A anything that  be perceived As negotiating a he said. In other words hell pay Ransom but Only in a package Deal a All the hostages a and if the Price is not seen to be the result of bargaining. His aides also make much of Bush a Contention that we re saying nothing to Iran and Syria privately that we re not saying publicly. Whether that a True and will remain True remains to be seen. Bush relishes behind the scenes dealings. Given the hand he inherited from Reagan a naive David s. Broder bungling this May be the Best he can do. He feels pressure on the hostage score and the thugs who hold them Are convinced they can get a better Price by holding out. Its a mistake however to pretend we can Ransom our people without others knowing what we be done. We May be Able to lie to ourselves but the world Bazaar can add and subtract. Both Iran and Syria Are run by scoundrels. Iran contracted for the bombing of pan am 103 As revenge for the iranian Airliner our Navy shot Down in 1986. Syria Shields the group who committed this mass Mur Der and controls Lebanon where the hostage takers operate. Iran supports the kidnappers who in most instances do her bidding. If those two murderous regimes now believe it is in their interest to sell us hostages for normalized relations perhaps that a the Best we can do a along w Ith resolving not to Deal again. But there a no Point in kidding ourselves about it. As in so Many instances. Bush plays the orwellian game of double speak. Calling a Spade a nosegay May be Fine for his ratings but How then does a democracy learn from its mistakes Cox news service Bush should heed family medical leave act backers president Bush is a Good listener but on some issues he makes you wonder who has his car. The family and medical leave act which passed the House last week is a Case in Point. The measure requires big companies to offer employees rehiring rights and continued health insurance if they take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to care for a child a Parent or a seriously ill family member. It was passed by a 237-187 vote with most democrats in favor and most republicans opposed. However a Large majority of women republicans in the House supported it As a pro family measure. In the 1988 Campaign Bush said that a we need to assure that women done to have to worry about getting their jobs Back after having a child or caring for a child during serious  but White House chief of staff John Sununu has publicly promised business lobbyists that the president will veto the Bill if it reaches his desk. Sununu says it is bad legislation because it is another Federal mandate burdening business with costs that will make it less competitive. But the facts belie that claim. As rep. Constance Morelia red pointed out in debate almost two thirds of the mothers in this country now work. More than 75 nations already have such family leave policies most with pay. The Only advanced nations without such leave policies Are the United states and South Africa. Canada provides 15 weeks of leave at 60 percent pay West Germany 14 to 19 weeks at full pay Japan 12 weeks at 60 percent pay. How 12 weeks of leave without pay could so disadvantage american firms is a mystery. Rep. Olympia Snower Maine said that her state which the president knows Well from his vacations in Kennebunk port has a a substantially similar Law in effect already except that it reaches Down to smaller businesses than the proposed Federal statute. She called its Impact on business and workers a very  a i have not received one complaint concerning that slate policy even though i actively solicited comments in that regard a a she added. One after another the gop women argued that the measure was a minimal recognition of the realities of today a workplace and a practical step to strengthen families by alleviating some of the pressures workers feel when Tom by conflicting economic and personal demands. Rep. Barbara Vucanovich r-nev., one of the two opponents called the Bill a a Wolf in sheep a clothing a a measure which a would erode the very basis of democracy. By forcing employers to provide certain benefits to their employees. But rep. Marge Roukema r-n.j., a principal architect of the Bill explained the Steps she and others took to satisfy what they thought might be legitimate business fears. The Bill covers Only firms with 50 or More employees a 5 percent of All companies. It allows even those firms to deny reemployment rights to the top 10 percent of their employees the ones whose jobs arguably could not go unfilled for even three months without wrecking the company. It requires reasonable notice and medical certification of serious illness. A i done to mean a child with sniffles or the flu Quot said Roukema a but a child or employee who has cancer and needs time for chemotherapy treatments. An elderly Parent who is terminally ill and. Needs Home hospice  Sununu questioned whether it is the proper role of the government to mandate such policy. Roukema who nursed her own son when he was dying of leukaemia said that president Bush Quot a compassionate sensitive family Man a needs to face facts. Quot each Day hard working tax paying americans lose their jobs because a family medical emergency requires that they take time off to give temporary care to a seriously ill member of the family. In a Day and age when the majority of american families need two paychecks to get by it is inconceivable that we do not have a minimum guarantee of Job Security when a medical emergency strikes. The debate Over the family and medical leave act is not about mandates or Benefit packages. It is about values and a Standard of  that View was endorsed by 10 of the 13 Republican women in the House a to say nothing of such staunchly conservative males As rep. Henry Hyde a ill. Hyde said a i am not appalled that this is a Federal mandate. We mandate Job Security for jury service. For Roth duty. It seems to me for motherhood for caring for a sick member of your family that our Economy and our society should be compassionate enough to include  among the Republican women who voted for the Bill last week Are the challengers for three Senate seats which arc vital to Bush a chances of having a Republican Senate next year a reps. Patricia Saiki of Hawaii Lynn Martin of Illinois and Claudine Schneider of Rhode Island. If the measure passes the Senate and then is vetoed As Sununu promised the business lobbyists it would be they will be forced either to reverse themselves or to put themselves directly at Odds with the president. To whom will George Bush listen c Washington Post writers group the opinions expressed in the columns and cartoons on this Page represent those of the authors and Are in no Way to be considered As representing the views of the stars and stripes or the United states government