European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 14, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 the Star s and stripes tuesday August 14,1990 Andrew j. Glass _. I Moscow tied feb fhe West cuts Mideast losses a ruthless despot rises to powering the Middle East after the fall of a pro Western regime. While grabbing Oil hold Ings he fans the flames of pan Arab nationalism. A multinational Force forms to Check his vaulting ambition. But its operations Stop swiftly after the soviet Union backs the Arab dictator with nuclear threats. That plot could easily fit Iraq s sad dam Hussein until you come to thelast sentence. Only then does it become Clear that this real life scenario applies to Egypt Gamal Abdel Nasser. Americans believe that pressure from former president Eisenhower in 1956 forced Britain France and Israel to halt their joint Effort to regain control of the nationalized Suez canal from Nas ser. But Many arabs think Moscow did the Job. That belief coupled with an abundant. Flow of arms served to bolster soviet prestige throughout the Region for More than three decades. This is the context in which open so Viet support for president Bush s drive to thwart Saddam must be seen. The Krem Lin reversal appears to be the sole critical piece of the geopolitical Puzzle that the wily Saddam failed to anticipate. It could prove to be a vital strategic error. So Why did the soviets who had backed Saddam with thousands of tanks and missiles for eight Long years during his War with a formidable Iran decide to ditch him hastily after his Blitzkrieg strike against a puny Kuwait for the solution let s follow the Money. But first two More questions what nation leads the world in Oil output and what nation stands to gain the most from a Long period of stable Energy prices the answer in each Case is the soviet Union. The soviet Economy is in awful shape. By now this is a Well understood axiom in every major world capital except perhaps Baghdad. Any Hope of recovery depends on foreign credits and technology. When All the broken crockery from the Middle East turnaround is swept away Moscow s grateful partners should be Well disposed to rebuild its Kitchen. That s basically Why the Kremlin has Jim Fain thrown in with the West. To ensure free Dom of navigation two of its warships now patrol the persian Gulf Side by Side with the americans. Its diplomats hold seats at nato s strategic sessions i Brussels. Already multinational Oil companies led by Chevron arc investing billions of dollars to develop Oil reserves in Kazakhstan and neighbouring Siberia. To succeed such ventures require both High prices and confident investors. The iraqi crisis raised prices helping the soviets to rebuild their depleted hard currency reserves. Now the soviets must write off their Baghdad connection in order to retain the Confidence they need. The sea shift in Kremlin policy first become evident in 1988 when Mikhail Gorbachev spoke to the United nations. He said then that new political think ing required the world body to under take an expanded peacekeeping role. Since the United nations had Long been viewed on this Side of the Atlantic As a soviet led Cave of winds his speech was widely discounted. But Gorbachev meant it. And the new world order that he envisions can not come to pass if Sovereign nations can be toppled by Force. The tide of ethnic nationalism sweeping through the soviet Union merely doubles these concerns. The strife torn islamic Republic of Azerbaijan plays much the same role in the soviet Economy As Texas does in the United states. What would happen should a Resur gent Iran Annex Azerbaijan at a time of soviet weakness it is such potential threats that have persuaded Gorbachev to Cut his losses in the Middle East. That allows him to follow in the foot Steps of Peter the great by bonding rus Sia once More  prosperous euro Pean and Atlantic Community. Cox news service Bush priority should be to make . Viable wonder of wonders the . Security Council finally acted the Way Franklin Roosevelt & co. In tended. It swiftly and without dissent slapped an embargo on Iraq for invading its neighbor. The reason for the first time the soviet Union was willing to join with the United states. For nearly half a cent Rythe superpowers had been rewarding mischief makers As part of the Power game. This time they United against one. Therein lies a priceless Opportunity to build a Supra National Agency for dealing with problems beyond the reach of any single state. Along with aggression it could tackle global warming overpopulation and nuclear proliferation to name a few. The United nations is the right instrument. Though tarnished by years of impotence it s in place As a voluntary grouping of All states. True its bureaucracy is bloated after years on the shelf. A wholesale housecleaning is in order. But it s easier Toins Igor ale something in place than to Start from scratch. Almost unnoticed Mikhail Gorbachev has been calling Lor Tresh emphasis on the United nations. It s time the West responded. Because we be relied almost entirely on regional Security pacts we a lost sight of the world Agency. The mess we confront in the persian Gulf Points up the need. The United nations acted immediately on Tough economic sanctions but had no viable peacekeeping machinery to Check Saddam Hussein. As a result the United states had to move on it sown. That meant a dangerous delay of almost a week while we consulted allies begged Arab states to help and cajoled saudi Arabia into allowing us to Rescue her. Arab nations including the saudis have legitimate fears. Regardless of what their sheiks Kings and even presidents say some 200 million arabs Are convinced not without reason that the West sees them Only a subhuman Oil spigots. They View the United states As reflexively on is Rael s Side in any dispute. To them the Royal rulers of Kuwait and saudi Arabia Are plunderers who enrich themselves while ignoring the misery of the masses. Some of this is justified some not. Either Way it s the raw material of revolution a constant threat tothe regimes that Supply much of the world s Oil. Saddam Hussein touches this vein. Suppressing him however necessary will Only Stoke islamic Pas Sims. Given the cards As dealt president Bush has Donean admirable Job of managing the crisis. He had no real Choice except to help the saudis but it was no easy matter to get them to accept troops. He won their of by dispatching. Defense Secretary Dick Cheney with satellite pictures of menacing Iraq deployments. Bush is an olympic class Schmoe or and All his past stroking of world leaders paid off. He won unanimity from the developed world including Japan and even got China on Board. Wooing the moderate arabs is harder Given their political problems but he s giving it the College try. All this would be far simpler if there were an experienced world Agency to coordinate actions and provide cover for unpopular actions. By itself the United states As the world s policeman reaps the resentment directed at any cop who tries to Settle family fights. Like most administrations the Bush Crew Seldom lifts its eyes from whatever fire it s fight ing. It sorely needs a strategy the vision thing for the longer pull. Building a workable United nations would be Good Start. Cox Noas scr Vitt i to opinions expressed in the columns and cartoons on this Page represent those of the authors and Are in i Way to be considered As representing the news of Hie stars and stripes or the United states government