European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 12, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 a the stars and stripes wednesday september 12,1990 Jim Anderso invasion of Kuwait changed world forever the  Summit in Helsinki showed that nothing will Ever again be quite As it was before aug. 2, when iraqi president Saddam Hussein launched his invasion of Kuwait. The seismic tremor that rippled around the world radically changed everything including the superpower relationship that appears to have been strengthened rather than damaged by the iraqi aggression. But it also showed a As soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev said a that no single superpower is sufficient to determine the course of events. The underlying theme of their meeting and their joint news conference later was that Only by working together can the nations of the world preserve the peace. Saddam was Correct in his initial calculations about Kuwait the autocratic kuwaiti government was unpopular resented and envied by the have not in the Arab world. It was militarily weak and in a futile form of self Protection rejected any Alliance with the United states. And so Saddam pounced. But his miscalculation a which was magnified by some fast diplomatic footwork by . Ambassador to the United nations Thomas Pickering a was in not understanding that most of the world a including his former ally the soviet Union and his current ally Yemen a recognized a larger principle aggression against any country is a threat to every country. It was an idea that went far beyond the iraqi invasion and will last Long after the episode is resolved. If Saddam goes Down in history it will not be As the Modem successor of the Arab Warrior Saladin a As he had hoped a but As the accidental tinkerer who revived the United nations because of his clumsiness. In putting together the Summit and in their concluding joint statement president Bush and Gorbachev concentrated on the fact that the . Security Council had passed five resolutions condemning and demanding the reversal of the iraqi invasion. Those resolutions a passed without a dissenting vote a Are a kind of revolution one that could not have happen Dcarl Rowan .-j=ssfi2s��?T  v j <<77dr. Us oct oif Fatah 20 years ago or possibly even two years ago when the Moscow Washington relationship was still edgy and unsettled. Now that the revolution has happened what Are the possibilities a and the dangers first Universal peace has not broken out and the United nations has not become the worlds new policeman. Solidarity is Only possible when most nations of the world see themselves As threatened. This is something that is possible when one nation Iraq with a single stroke of Force threatens to control 40 percent of the worlds Oil Supply. It is not possible when As a theoretical example Nigeria threatens to invade Sierra Leone. Next just because the two superpowers happen to agree on a particularly blatant show of naked iraqi aggression in Kuwait does not mean they will also agree on a More Subtle kind of event such As a again As a theoretical example a an israeli syrian clash in Lebanon. So far members of Congress have been almost universally full of Praise for the Bush administration for its actions in the crisis particularly the Way the United nations was brought into the action. But what happens when the . Security Council acts against . Interests in a replay of the condemnation of . Actions in Nicaragua or Panama the enthusiasm for International peace keeping on Capitol Hill and the rest of the country May soon vanish. Also what happens if Gorbachev disappears a victim of his own Experiment in perestroika if he were to be replaced by somebody More assertive a Boris Yeltsin comes to mind a will the enthusiasm about cooperating with Moscow remain so Strong in the Congress what was evident in Helsinki sunday was a sense of partnership Between Bush and Gorbachev As a result of the iraqi invasion of Kuwait. But that is something in itself that is not universally welcomed by some politicians who take a Long selfish View of their own interests. In this Case China Japan and the european Community come to mind As slightly concerned onlookers at the world that was turned upside Down by Saddam. United press International for reviewing Middle East policy gift of time timely intervention by the Long maligned United nations has Given world leaders and Saddam Hussein a Chance to avoid ghastly warfare Over iraqis invasion of Kuwait. It has also Given us americans time to think free of emotional bombast about what we Hope to achieve with our remarkable military mobilization. The vast majority of americans believe that when a president disrupts the lives of thousands of military families including reservists and spends More than $2 billion in a few weeks to transport them their planes tanks guns Gas masks and bottled water to the deserts of saudi Arabia the least we can expect is a that iraqis invaders will be chased out of Kuwait. A that Kuwait a previous rulers will be restored to Power unless through some magical display of democracy the kuwaiti people choose other leaders. A saudi Arabia and its Oil Fields will be made secure against iraqi attack sabotage or whatever. A the Arab emirates Iran Egypt Syria Jordan Turkey will never have to fear Saddam and his awesome military Force again because the other nations of the world will restrain him. But that does no to satisfy a lot of americans some israelis and probably some Arab leaders. It Isnit that they Are Bloodthirsty. They simply believe that when the United states and other nations pour such massive military potential into the persian Gulf area they Are obligated to use it to Cut off the head of the dragon that has been terrorizing the area. The knee Jerk argument is that the whole military exercise is a fraud and the most costly Bluff in . History if Saddam Hussein and his War making potential Are not destroyed. So we hear arguments Public and private that Saddam must be deposed or assassinated. That a massive preemptive military strike must be launched in order to wipe out the soviet Mig 23 fighters scud missiles and tanks the French exocet missiles and most of All the plants using German technology to make Mustard and nerve gases not to mention wiping out hordes of the million men and boys in the iraqi army. The . Has Given the world time to face the reality that even a a pre empty vet strike against Iraq would cause the deaths of thousands of a foreign guests in Iraq from the soviet Union and Britain As Well As the United states and that Many thousands of soldiers and civilians would be gassed by iraqi forces. The . Has Given us americans time to think about our police role our a a peace role in the world Are we ordained to declare that the soviet Union great Britain France and China May have nuclear weapons and India with grudging forbearance while Pakistan develops a the bomb in duplicitous secrecy and that Israel May develop nuclear weapons while its Arab neighbors May not has the United states some right to say that it and the soviet Union May have arsenals of chemical weapons and probably biological killers but that other nations cannot we Are not so ordained. This window of peace has allowed soviet leaders to think and they have confessed to think and they have confessed to grave error in delivering to Saddam weapons that Kremlin leaders never thought would be used 1  a a annexation of Kuwait which was an ally of Iraq in the eight year War against Iran. The French like us americans must now know that while our countries preached against a the proliferation of nuclear weapons a we became the Premier paddlers of conventional weapons guaranteeing that we would face these nightmares in the Middle East and elsewhere thus intensifying a hunger for nuclear weapons in even the tiniest country in the world. We done to want our men and women in the persian Gulf area to die in a War that May not be necessary no matter How much we have spent to put them in harms Way. President Bush knows that he can to bring them Home until certain guarantees of a a peace have been won. K he also knows let us Hope that his War mobilization May achieve a few laudable objectives but it cannot give the United states Safe passage As the Tough cop on a world beat that is More dangerous than any Washington ghetto. C North America Syndicate inc