European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 31, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse Thursday january 31, 1991 the stars and Page 11 commentary Martin Gottlie protesters create backlash not War policy some network Guy reporting on the new Antiwar demonstrations said these protests Are completely different from Hose about Vietnam. For one thing he said today a protesters Arentt anti troops. This notion that the Vietnam protesters were ant troops is getting widespread repetition Days. A a a. A. A it is. A rewrite of history the anti Vietnam demonstrations were fundamentally expressions of concern for the troops and potential troops. Yes there were aggressive Ici Tish elements with other agendas. But those people can to build a mass move Meni. Only self interest can do that. The anti War movement was fuelled staffed and dominated by a generation of College students a who faced being drafted and sent to die for a murky cause a and who were understandably unhappy about that. Yes sortie protesters complained about our soldiers using napalm. And some chanted a they hey. Lbs How. Many kids did you kill today Quot but the vast majority of protesters were Quick to say that their Gripe was with policy and policy makers. Indeed by the end of the War some of the most prominent demonstrators were veterans. They were certainly not demonstrating against the troops. The fact that Vietnam veterans were not treated As heroes upon their return Home has been trans Nigri fied into the a fact Quot that they were treated As villains they weren to. What happened in the Vietnam Era was what a happening Nowr a lot of people saw War protesters and simply decided that they were anti troops. Nothing can prevent that misinterpretation. Many other myths about Vietnam Are getting Espe Dally wide dissemination these Days. How Many times have you heard somebody a like president Bush for. Example a saying that this time the troops should not a have one hand tied behind their backs. This did not happen to american troops in Vietnam. To suggest that it did is to say that Richard Nixon really did no to want to win the w a come on. There simply was t any Way to win a any More than there was soviets in Afghanistan or the French before us in Vietnam. A. In guerrilla wars that Are seen by natives As anti colonial efforts the greater military Power does t necessarily win. The More motivated one does. That s Why the colonial Era ended. A a. Yes in Vietnam our presidents did try to achieve negotiated settlements Short of Flat out Victory. But that the second . Did t mean they were holding Back. Certainly in the Case of Nixon it Only meant that he figure out a How to win a a a the continuing Effort to Rew rite the history of Viet num is fuelled primarily by people who think that Lack or Public support for our troops and policy and the resulting Lack of governmental resolve was the american problem there. This misses the Point of Vietnam. It simply makes no sense to look at a War on the other Side of the world in a strategically trivial country that we fought for eight years with As Many As half a million men at a time and ask Why we finally left. The Only reasonable question is Why did we stay so Long. Today a protests Are happening earlier in the War than the Vietnam protests. This apparently reflects the feeling of some that the Vietnam protests worked. They did no to. Indeed they have created a nationalistic backlash. The War had Strong majority support in the polls Lor years. A a. A Quot a _ backlash certainly seems to he protesters arc having this time. There was in the past week an unmistakable increase in displays of patriotic Fervour not when the War began but when the major protests began. Protesters loom Large in our consciousness. But what matters in determining War policy at least in a War that is not about National survival is the ire debate about Vietnam will proceed As Long As people who were alive then Are and writing newspaper columns ,. But its just a game. What matters is on the other Side of world. Co nows service a. A. David Brode Congress risking overachiever s image for All its Rotten reputation Congress in the last four years has been an overachiever. At the end of both the. 100th and 101st congresses in 1988 and 1990, the lawmakers had accomplished far More than was expected of them. True they did not dispose of the budget deficit. But they did pass significant economic social and environmental legislation dealing with everything from Trade to air Quality and from welfare to the rights of the handicapped. That All this was done in an Era bracketing a highly partisan presidential Campaign and at a time Whon democrats controlled Congress and the republicans the White House makes the achievement All the More remarkable. One should not discount the possibility therefore that the 102nd Congress now getting under Way will have More than we imagine to show for itself when it closes Down on the eve of the 1992 election. But realistically it faces worse obstacles than its predecessors. A a everyone is putting the Best face on things of course. The Republican and democratic leaders of the House and Senate All made their speeches in Advance of the presidents state of the Union address outlining their ideas on the Agenda for the next to o years republicans want vouchers for school Choice and related limits on earnings by social Security recipients. Democrats want to pass the family leave and civil rights Bills Bush vetoed last year. Both want to improve benefits for veterans Aid schools tackle the nations health needs and update Energy policies but the reality is that it will be Tough to do much of the next two years a for several Good reasons. A. First there a a War on a a War of Uncertain duration but steadily mounting costs a life goes on a As president Bush says a but history shows that every past War has Plit the brakes on the Domestic Agenda this one is unlikely to be any different no matter How Long it lasts while the fighting continues the Atten tin and Energy Ofa Washington will be focused on winning that struggle afterwards there will be huge Bills to pay and critical actions needed to Patch together a new Security arrangement in the Middle East. Developments soviet Union could Well cause us additional headaches. Domestic problems will have to struggle for attention. Second the budget is in big trouble a again. Even with War costs nominally a off budget and Many of the Bills being paid by contributions from the saudis kuwaitis and japanese the Burden of military operations will everyone recognizes limit the possibilities of new Domestic spending. The recession has whacked Federal revenues and added to costs of income sup port programs. It has put More Strain on the financial system and More billions will have to be injected the savings and loan bailout and the Bank Deposit insurance system. / the recession is the main reason Why the deficit is rising a despite last fall s budget agreement. But no one wants to admit defeat so the Tough new spending rules embodied in that agreement will remain in effect at least for now. Essentially they require that each proposed spending increase be offset by a reduction in another program with no swaps allowed Between Domestic and defense. Entitlement spending operates on a Puy a you go Rule too. Few democrats want to raise taxes and Bush after compromising last year has set his face against More taxes this year. That Means that the Domestic programs must compete against each other for available funds a with Little Chance for new initiatives. Third there san election coming and both democrats and republicans Are out to draw the issues As sharply As they can for 1992. In an last month White House chief of staff John 11. Sunu Nii told me As i reported then that in the 102nd Congress a we May end up with not that much legislation being passed but people will understand much More about the differences Between republicans and democrats. Thai strategy of deliberate polarization a with republicans attempting to put the democrats on the defensive on the issues of cringe and racial quotas a is also Central to the drive to regain a Republican majority in the Senate. As for the democrats House majority Leader Richard Gephardt do says they Are prepared to fight the Battle of a tax fairness against an administration. He says has Quot to Domestic Agenda. Except special giveaways to the powerful and the partisanship is heightened by the number of potential democratic presidential candidates including Gephardt on Capitol Hill. And far More House members than usual Are politically nervous either because their reelection margins were reduced by the anti incumbent mood in 1990, or because they May he redistrict de into unfamiliar territory next year. This adds up to a prescription for turmoil on Capitol Jill. And if much legislation emerges in such a Congress it truly will be an achievement. Washington Job Wale in group. The opinions expressed to the columns and cartoons on this Page represent those of the authors and Are in no Way to he considered As representing the views of the stars and stripes or the United states government
