European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 20, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 the stars and stripes monday August 20,1990a.m. Rosenthal no More miscalculations a in 1981, a Small country recognized a deadly danger to its existence. In a courageous act of self preservation the country struck out militarily to save itself. In doing so that country benefited not Only itself but the world. Nine years later the danger has risen again a and again it is to All the nations. The Challenge and Opportunity to end it now fall to a great Power. On june 7 1981, israeli planes bombed the iraqi nuclear reactor near Baghdad. It thus prevented the iraqi dictatorship from developing atomic bombs that were supposed to be its crucial instruments of blackmail fear and death. Much of the world screamed at Israel a classic demonstration of global hypocrisy. But in truth every a lion understood that Israel had moved the world one step Back from self destruction. Then Blind with greed and suicidally stupid with self delusion the arabs the West and the soviet Union stuffed Saddam Hussein with Money weapons and the material that allowed him to rebuild his nuclear weapon potential. He built a new Plant near Turkey and every Day moves closer to the bomb. Saddam has used other weapons from which the world thought it was Safe a chemicals that bum and choke before killing. He used them in Iran and against his people at Home. J who will now guarantee that this killer once armed with nuclear bombs for the delivery missiles he already has will never carry out or threaten a nuclear strike shall we ask the state department experts who said Saddam would never invade Kuwait and while they arc at it can they also guarantee that Saddam will never slip a few of the bombs in his nuclear Arsenal to his gangs of roving terrorists to stash away in some Middle Eastern Warren a or in a Western City we Are even now afraid to try to Rescue our hostages including the new thousands Saddam has taken in Kuwait and Iraq. Who will dare act against terrorists when they arc armed with nuclear weapons we Are at War with Iraq. When Iraq struck at vital . Economic interests and president Bush properly responded with blockade that was War. The questions now Are How it will be fought and How it will be ended. Saddam and assorted vassals such As King Hussein of Jordan did not expect Bush to react with such courage and Force. Even some of Saddam Sarab a Brothers Quot find themselves forced to stand up to him for awhile to save their necks. But the West would be even More foolish than usual to forget that some of our new Arab allies gave him billions of dollars before he threatened them directly the biggest contributors to the iraqi War Chest were Kuwait and saudi Arabia. They would be slavering by Happy to give Saddam Jim Fain Money and weapons again As Long As he went after somebody else a say Israel. So Saddam shrewdly sends word that he is ready for a Deal some arrangement allowing him to get ready for the next move. Maybe he would even be willing to save the Bank accounts of the kuwaiti Emir and his Oil fat family a for a Cut of course. Saddam would keep his Job and army and build his nuclear threat. In a couple of years he will be ready again to grab for International domination. This time he will be armed with nuclear weapons stockpiled at Home and scattered in his various terrorist bases abroad. Rest easy we will be told by our experts he will never dare to use or threaten the use of nuclear weapons. Maybe they will be right at last. But suppose they Are wrong just one More time if Saddam wants peace to regroup the minimum Price must be the destruction of his nuclear plants missile factories and launching pads. After the embargo is tight enough to Hurt Saddam the United states should give him a Short time a a few Days a to permit the entry of an International team to supervise the destruction. If he does not accept the United states should do it from the air with its allies or without. Yes Israel will still have nuclear capacity. That will be a danger to the West a provided Israel surrenders democracy for despotism cries holy War against the West takes our hostages and threatens our economic Independence. Pretending democratic friends and tyrannical enemies Are the same helped bring us Hitler Stalin and Saddam Hussein. A peace that leaves Saddam Hussein Ever Able to lift a nuclear bomb in threat would be a betrayal of All american forces that Are sent now to put him Down a or that will face him in the future. 1 c naw York Timas Gulf crisis nothing compared with aftereffects Sutherland Bluff Gay wars arc just Dandy for to but done to do much for the rest of us. The network anchors Are in full cry. Dan rather trots out his safari suit breathless with the drama of it All. Ted Koppel beats the pack into Baghdad fit helps to be More famous than the people you interview. News show ratings soar higher than Gas at the pump. Wars make splendid to theater. They re us and them Good Guys is. Bad simple to understand. Huge maps and pointers All Over the set experts retailing Wisdom in sound Biles. A super bowl with live ammunition. Tvs done a first rate Job of covering the persian Gulf standoff including the Arab Street View. A print editor com a rented a i think they re helped by not having any pictures to run. This Way they can Tell you what s really going  if camera wars Are less fun. Months of Boring misery punctuated by Odd moments of terror. My summer Home Here on the Georgia coast is just a few Miles from fort Stewart where the 24th inf div is shipping out. The k Mart where i bought our family bikes had its 15 minutes of Fame the other Day when the division commander dropped by to pick up 20,000 bottles of suntan lotion no. 152,400 cans of Bug Spray and a few other travel items. The troops you see in the pizza joints Are like any kids going off to War. Trained fit Gung to mostly not combat tested. Soon  be older less eager More cynical. Its a massive undertaking this deployment to the Middle East and a necessary one. Given our foolish dependence on foreign Oil. There a nothing Noble or altruistic about it. A a president Bush a unctuous talk about stopping aggression is hot air. We re fighting for cheap Oil not the brotherhood of Man. We re paying for past mistakes too a and not just the absence of an Energy policy. This business is going to Cost a bundle that Well have to borrow abroad on top of the Bills for the 8-year Binge president Reagan Flung on our credit card. Interest payments already Are in the $200 billion Range a about what the deficits been running. With a medium sized War on top of the a amp a mess the red Ink in fiscal �?T91 could hit $400 to $500 billion. We re almost sure to be in recession by year s end which will slash Revenue and run up government expenses. The Economy is so shaky no one now expects deficit cutting next year. All a result of reaganomics and Bush s lip Reading ploy. We missed a Chance to put government finance in order during Good times. Well pay the Price in bad. There a something magnificent about Ordinary americans when the chips Are Down though. We tend to rally in emergencies. You see it in the laconic Confidence of the soldiers in the film clips from saudi Arabia. If its crisis we need we re going to gel a ring Dinger not so much in tidying up the Gulf Oil Supply As in the reckoning that ties just beyond. That a where the National character will be tested. Getting the county Back on track economically socially arid environmentally will demand leadership of a wholly different order from that of the recent past plus a National maturity beyond anything seen since world War ii. Such greatness always has been there when we had to have it. One More time please lord despite the to histrionics the deeper Challenge ahead will make the Gulf War seem a passing inconvenience. Co nows a a vice