European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 18, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 10 columns the stars and stripes sunday november 18,1990george will historical parallels ill suited for Gulf crisis those who do not learn from the past Are not really condemned to repeat it. They could not repeat it even if they wanted to. Situations that Are sufficiently similar in the relevant particulars rarely if Ever recur least of All in International relations. Nevertheless there is As in the . Response to iraqi aggression a powerful inclination toward policy by analogy a Hitler revisited a avoiding another Munich. Given the pull of analogies on current policymakers it is Good that it is not True that All we learn from the past is that we do not learn from it. There Are certain consistencies such As elements of american National character and certain recurring ideas concerning which the past illuminates the present crisis. There is an old a As old As this nation a Hope that economic coercion can radically reduce or even obviate Reliance on combat in International conflicts. A second recurring Hope is As old As air Power. It is that air Power delivering economical doses of Force precisely against an enemy a military assets can substantially economize violence by reducing Reliance on ground combat with its horrible human costs. When this Republic was Young it was brimming with the conviction that it could inaugurate a new science and ethic of politics in International As Well As Domestic affairs. One of the nations first Noble experiments was the embargo act of 1807. A it lasted just 14 months. It still ranks As one of the nations most Complete and perhaps characteristic for sign policy failures. The embargo was intended As an alternative to War against England and France in defense of . Commercial rights As a Neutral. But France liked the embargo because it Hurt England More and it Hurt new England manufacturing and shipping interests most. It caused smuggling sectional animosities and even secessionist sentiment in Connecticut and Massachusetts. The embargo was a joining of theory and practice by the president Thomas Jefferson most inclined to attempt such a joining. But that particular economic Sanction an infant nations pinprick against two powerful nations locked in a Long violent struggle could not succeed. And the 1940 . Embargo on strategic materials for Japan probably hastened what by then May have been inevitable a japanese turn toward War. But history does not teach that sanctions As comprehensive As today a against Iraq will fail to coerce a country As dependent As Iraq is on imports of food and military components for its High tech Garrison state. Sanctions Are a form of Force for inflicting serious pain a do not a warns sen. Pat Moynihan d-n.y., a expect any nation to give up what it considers vital interests simply David Broder because its supplies of Orange Pekoe Tea run and when food supplies run Low the elite soldiers will be the last to starve. Therefore the nation that imposes serious sanctions should be prepared by its political leadership As the american Public has not been for grim consequences of its policy. Such sanctions take time but they should take a toll on Iraq. People impatient with sanctions say Iraq can be coerced at Small Cost to americans using air Power. Perhaps. Ever since 1911, when the italians yes the italians a in Libya experimented with aircraft As weapon platforms military planners have hoped that air Power could be used to economize the violence of War. In 1932, Britain a prime minister Stanley Baldwin said a the bomber will always get through a a statement that reflected widespread pessimism about defense and deepened the pacifist impulse in Britain. Eight years later the Royal air forces fighter pilots magnificently refuted Baldwin. Actually overestimation of air Power arose in part from optimism that War could be made less ruinous than the carnage of Static Trench combat in world War i when both sides fought machine guns with Young menus chests thereafter there was a will to believe that air Power could shorten wars by delivering decisive blows past the front to the weapons factories that sustain Modem War. A however the deep penetration raids by flying fortresses into Germany As with the bombing of Japan a cities coincided with increased War production almost to the end of the War. In a saturation bombing a Only one in a Hundred bombs might hit a target unless the target was very broadly defined As in Dresden. This demonstrated the limits of free fall explosives. Today a inventory of air delivered munitions is varied and sophisticated and perhaps makes air Power Able in the context of iraqi targets to fulfil at last the Long deferred dream of War winning blows delivered from the air. But do not bet on military Victory delivered from the Ait by americans with no american blood on the ground. A better bet is to give today a sanctions which have Sharp Teeth time to bite. C Washington Post writers group limiting lawmaker terms May not be Wise As the american government approaches a fateful decision on our course of action in the persian Gulf the character judgment and experience of the key players offer the Best Assurance that the decision will be made Well. It is Worth noting that most of those involved would not be in the meetings if the principle behind the proposal for a term limits a now gaining such popularity prevailed. As readers of this column know i have not been reluctant to criticize president Bush and his associates for the erratic and ineffectual Way they have dealt with far too Many Domestic policy issues in the East two years. More such criticisms will e heard m the future i expect. But it is almost impossible to imagine a More sober serious Calm cautious rational and prudent set of people meeting on the question of War or peace in the persian Gulf than those this president has assembled. Individually and collectively they measure up to the highest standards. Starting with George Bush himself they bring a wealth of personal experience in International diplomacy and National Secu Rity affairs and great depth of personal knowledge of the other world leaders with whom they Are dealing. The Secretary of state Janies a. Baker Iii Secretary of defense Dick Cheney National Security adviser Brent scowcroft and chairman of the joint chiefs of staff Gen. Colin l. Powell Are without exception men who have earned the Confidence of their Peers in our government and in the governments of the Many countries with whom we Are working in this crisis the group May Lack anyone with the wide ranging intellectual and strategic sense of a Henry Kissinger. But it is blessedly free from the vaulting ambitions the raging egos and the private score settling agendas that have cluttered and demeaned National Security debates in most administrations from Harry Truman s through Ronald Reagan a. No false bravado or foolish Pride will influence them to rash action. No Lack of Confidence or experience will keep them from doing what their Best judgment tells them needs to be done no less important to the country a Confidence is the fact that these same qualities of judgment character and experience Are to be found in the leaders of the legislative Branch of government who will be crucial in the decisions that lie ahead. The most obvious examples Are the leaders of the democratic opposition in con a a a a wow .w.44hv Al to 0911 u a political protege and former staff member of the late sen. Henry m. Jackson of Washington. For three decades As an increasingly influential legislator Jackson preached and practice the View that when National Security is involved partisanship not Only takes second place it has no place in the debate. That is Why his support and advice were sought and cherished by presidents of both parties. Senate majority Leader George Mitchell a Maine is a political protege and former staff member of Edmund s. Muskie who served the nation As Secretary of state and for Many years before that As an influential member of the Senate foreign re actions committee. No less than Foley Mitchell has been schooled for years to take the broadest Conception of the National interest into his discussions with the president in these crucial world issues. If there is to be a Broad debate when Congress returns on the next Steps in our persian Gulf policy a a healthy and desirable process i strongly believe the influential voices will belong to people of Sis seas a a judgment a senators like Nunn d-ga., Richard Lugar Rind and John Warner r-va., and represent ss5. Wad p Quot d we so and be Holt Junee anyone to list another 5�y. Would prefer to see engaged in this decision making than those who now hold these positions of leadership in the executive and legislative Branch. And i would urge those who Are Selling the a term limit Panacea to consider if the principle of limited tenure in government office is really one they want to impose one nation carrying the burdens of world leadership which now rest on the United states the youngest person i have mentioned Dick Vieney has 21 years of elective and appointive Federal service George Bush has 24 Colin Powell 32 Brent scowcroft 18 Jim Baker 12. The proposals now gathering steam in the states would generally permit no More than eight to 12 years As the maximum sen ice in the House or Senate. Does anyone really think the nation would be better served if Tom Foley and Lee Hamilton with their 26 years Les Aspin with 20 years Sam Nunn with 18 years Dick Lugar with 14 years John Warner with 12 years and George Mitchell with 10 years were All to be replaced in these discussions by men and women who had entered Congress within the past decade there Are Many Able people in the Junior ranks whose Rise to leadership will be we come. But i for one am grateful that it is the grown who Are making the Calls in this situation. C Washington Post writers group
