European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 10, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Wednesday april 10, 1991 the stars and stripes Haynes Johnson Page 13commentary accountability the Issue in . Beating Case Luo in que not since the Watts riots that spawned a wave of racial violence in american cities a generation ago has a single incident ignited such anger and fear As the police brutality Case involving White los Angeles officers who unbeknown to them were videotaped viciously clubbing a defenceless Black Man. Not surprisingly the Case is the dominant subject of private conversation and Public commentary in los Angeles and the ramifications have spread far beyond. Four of the police officers have been indicted and if convicted in a forthcoming trial face prison sentences ranging from a maximum of seven years eight months to four years. In the meantime 11 other officers also White who witnessed the beating but did nothing to Stop it Are under further criminal investigation. Thus on one hand americans can take Comfort that their criminal Justice system is performing As it should a swiftly efficiently and fairly. Most important it is operating in a color Blind manner thereby defusing some of the passion and potential for violent reaction that surrounds the episode.  the Legal aspects of this Case even the crucial appearance of fairness while important Are not the most significant. This is a Case in which no doubt exists about what happened thanks to that remarkable nighttime videotape made by a citizen from a nearby apartment Balcony. Night notwithstanding the Bright lights from police cars encircling the Motorist and the officers illuminate the scene As clearly As if it were Day. They show Rodney Glenn King 25, lying on the ground As the officers repeatedly kick him and club him with police Batons at least 56 times. The beating was so severe that doctors who treated King at a Hospital said he suffered fractures at the base of the Skull and permanent damage to Bones that hold his right Eye in its socket a and possible brain damage. He was Lucky to emerge alive. Horrible As the scene is its utter clarity is fortunate in one respect. It removes the possibility that anyone can claim that this was a falsely manufactured incident. This is no Tawana Brawley scam what you see Here is what actually happened. The question is not what happened but Why and How it was possible. At this Point Many of the facts about the incident remain unclear. King was nearly beaten to death after being captured following an automobile Chase at speeds in dispute. There is no evidence that he was armed or attempted to run Down or otherwise assault pursuing officers. Explanation for the Lawless savagery that ensued from members of the los Angeles police department lies elsewhere. All that the Public knows is that this incident has tar William Safire wished the reputation of the land and cast aspersions on Law enforcement in general. It suggests rampant racism in View of police transcripts made Public and reinforces unfairly negative stereotypes about police officers everywhere. A it is a terrible moment a los Angeles county District attorney Ira Reiner said a and time for serious reflection when officers who have sworn to uphold the Law Are indicted for these most serious felonies a so clearly it is but merely stating the obvious offers no help in understanding the reasons for so massive a breakdown in professional police standards and order while there Are no easy answers the reality of contemporary Urban life provides some context in which this kind of act takes place. Los Angeles like other major cities has experienced a rising wave of violence in recent years. Causes Are of course Complex but common ingredients include the spread of the hard drug culture and the violence it engenders the increase in tensions Between ethnic groups pitting Blacks against asians and Llis panics and the Rise of gangs who terrorize communities and increasingly employ violence for the Mere Sake of violence. Residents Here Are accustomed to hearing of new Wanton shootings almost daily it seems. A los Angeles which gave us the drive in restaurant now gives us the drive in shooting a a Friend of some prominence in los Angeles said wryly and with bitterness. In the end though something More than Urban sociology or the pathology of racism needs to be addressed forcefully and immediately Here and in other cities. It is establishment and enforcement of professional standards that is the Issue and it is accountability. So massive a breakdown dictates not Only that those who betrayed their Public Trust be punished but also that those in charge of setting standards be held responsible for that  Means starting at the top with the chief of police. C the Washington Post Nixon brings multiple messages from Russia marshal Yazoo the lugubrious soviet defense minister is apparently not the insensitive clod 1 always thought him to be. A a �?�.\. He met Richard Nixon at the Street Entrance of the defense ministry former presidents note that upstairs he lined up the entire general staff on one Side of a conference table. The former presi Dent on the seventh and at 78, he assumes last of his visits to the soviet Union then had his Chance to make and take some Points. A you spend too much on the military to let economic Reform succeed a said Nixon who As godfather of detente could be certain his frankness would be received As Friendly. A you spend More than we do a countered Yazoo. A but you spend 25 percent of your National production on arms a in pressed a while we spend Between 5 percent and 6  the soviet marshal admitted Only to spending 12 percent on arms the Standard lie but then offhandedly observed that americans Gnu was a five or six times As Large As  upon returning Home Nixon made sure that particular Exchange was passed on to me. Why because have Long been Hung up on that Central comparison which tells us so much the Cia has been blundering for a decade assuming the soviet Gnu to be nearly half of our own while an unofficial team b Charlie amp Harry and Anders and i projects it As a third or even a Quarter. If a Azov a estimate a a fifth or sixth a is Correct then collapse during the Gorbachev years is steeper than any of us had imagined. The share spent on soviet arms tanks missiles and planes our sat Kellites can see must now be Over 40 , speeding that command Economy Ever faster toward ruination. Enough. Today a Point is the Way private citizen Nixon a in a position to pick up insights and dispense judgments As no Diplomat or journalist can a encapsulates them into messages aimed at different audiences. 1. To a general Public mainly interested in which will win a Gorby and the Kab army party hard liners or Yeltsin and the reformers disunion a the Nixon message in to interviews and in writings will include. Much of the zip has gone out of Gorby who has been unable to Cross the Rubicon into a free Economy the former reformer is a captive of reactionaries on a Detour to a dead end but remains a skilled politician determined to hold Power. Yeltsin Long made out to be a Boob by our prestige Media is flexible and smart asked about Cuba he said a i would line input of the russian budget if it were in the russian budget which its  upshot economic reality. Makes Yeltsin ascendant. 2. To president Bush for whom he is new preparing a report i think the message will be Only As the reformers with Yeltsin gain strength can Gorbachev the master politician be brought Back to the Center. Therefore we should Stop staffing Yeltsin strengthen connections with reformers in the republics identify vigorously with Baltic Independence. At the same time press Gorbachev hard giving nothing away at conventional arms and Start negotiations tie Trade to development of private ownership More consulates in republics. Short term strict unionists like the Skull cracking Pugo Gromov crowd have the Power but Long term a More voluntary association is in the cards. Man to watch Ukraine a Kravchuk. 3. To the competing soviet leaders the Nixon message draws on the Central device of his own career give Compromise the most uncompromising coloration. A Tough minded detente was the Nixon Way of frowning at the change he promoted during years in Power to reassure conservatives that is How. Gorb might slip his own stalinist so embrace. To that unionist in paraphrased Lincoln at Cooper Union an Economy cannot function half command half free. A a in a pro soviet a said Nixon everywhere a for a Strong stable government the West can collaborate  that in use is a message to Yeltsin a Way for him to advocate a voluntary confederacy with free markets while giving Gorbachev cover to come Over. The multiple messages the Subtle interweaving the crosscut rhetoric to manipulate policy change a you can to watch elder statesman Nixon without a score card. C the new York times the opinions expressed in the columns and cartoons on Quot this Page represent those of the authors and Are in no Way to be considered As representing the views of the stars acid stripes or the United states government