European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 20, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Saturday april 20, 1991 the stars and stripes a Page 13 commentary Ellen Goodman openness toward rape still requires privacy in the Days after the cry of rape turned the Kennedy a Florida compound into a Media Campground we read a great Deal about the woman who accused William Kennedy Smith. We read that she is 29 years old 5 feet 7 inches tall and blonde. We read that she has a 2-year-old daughter. That she is the Only child of an Ohio Auto maintenance worker and a Secretary who got divorced. That she went to High school in Akron where she was a c student. We read that her Stepfather is a retired Well to do industrialist who divorced his wife and married her Mother after a lengthy affair. That the father of her child is John p. Butler. That they were never married. There was one thing we did no to read her name. The woman a identity was a common knowledge in Palm Beach. It was common knowledge to journalists to neighbors and natives even to the hot dog Vendor who added her Street to his daily route. But the american Media followed its own internal guidelines. Reporters told almost All and kept their technical virginity they stopped Short of her name. On monday however a supermarket tabloid in Boca Raton broke ranks and maybe broke the state Law. On tuesday night Abc broadcast both her name and picture and then on wednesday the new York times followed suit with their editors saying that Abc a took the matter of her privacy out of their  what was common knowledge is now rapidly becoming Public knowledge. The lid is off but should it be since the 1970s, the Media has held a consensus of sensitivity on the Issue of naming alleged rape victims. This is something rare in the feisty first amendment annals. Editors have generally agreed that the Price of identifying these people was too High. They went along with those who argued that women would t press charges if it Cost them their privacy. Gradually big stories and social change have sorely tested this consensus. The Media has often itched to print what it knows. Some lawyers have at Gued that it is unfair to use the name of the accused but not the accuser. Explain the double Standard to William Smith they say. Uncharged he is nevertheless known nationally As a the alleged  some feminists too who once lobbied for anonymity have revised their View. In the ease of the Central Park Jogger lawyer Karen Decrow asked a is it not blatant sexism to assume that being raped and left bleeding to die is still such a disgrace for a woman that the victims name must be concealed a Over a year ago Geneva overholser editor of the Des Moines Register asked for rape victims to break through the shame a to speak out. And identify  one did and the Story of Nancy Ziegen Meyer won the pulitzer prize just last week. Does this mean that society is ready for names the question for me is not Only a Legal one although this May be tested in Florida where there is a Law against naming alleged rape victims. The More important matter is How we wend our Way through change. If americans better understand the difference Between violence and sex today its because women have spoken out if there is less shame its because of that openness. Yet i am convinced that the willingness of women to speak out May actually and perversely depend on the Protection of their privacy. Even Nancy Ziegenmeyer said that she would not have reported her rape to the police if she thought her name . It took seven months before she was willing to speak out. Indeed the woman who named herself supports an Iowa Bill that would allow other women to protect their identities. The Palm Beach Story makes the Best possible Case for those who want to name names. But the notion that we can judge these cases one by one does no to work. Would women be a Safe Quot As Long As they did t accuse famous men who would deckle when the Public s right to know overwhelmed the right to privacy the breach it creates for other women is too Broad too soon. It assumes a Post shame society. I agree that times Are changing and the Media needs to reflect that. Neither the Law nor reporters should assume a wish for anonymity anymore. Report ers must be Able to routinely ask women for their consent. With each woman who is willing Well push the door open a bit wider. The goal is a Day when we can identify the names of women who cry rape As coolly As those who cry thief. But to do so now against their will would push rape Back underground and chill the warming climate. In the Middle of a fundamental change privacy is the covered Bridge we need to Cross Over to the time when rape is indeed treated by the Public like any other  Tho Boston glob James j. Kilpatric kit s time to come quietly Home from the Gulf Washington a americans Are great ones for saying a a done to just sit there do something a but the uncomfortable truth remains that often it is bet Ter just to sit there. From the Oval office the president has a Clear View of Iraq. What should he do the Wisest answer is just sit there. It is not a wholly satisfactory answer. It would take a heart of Stone not to be moved by the plight of the kurd. Ger mainly the United states should provide humanitarian Aid to the refugees fleeing into Turkey and Iran. Every device of diplomacy should be invoked in their be half. There is much that the worlds Civi sized nations May do to expose the barbarian leadership of Iraq and to Comfort the victims of Saddam Hussein. But there the line must be drawn. No greater Folly could be imagined than the blundering course of action urged by the presidents critics in demanding that the president do something a specifically that he actively militarily Back the kurd in their civil War a they Are wrong dead wrong. The president is supported by sound reasons that go Back to aug. 2, when Iraq invaded its defenceless . The Security Council of the United nations at once adopted Resolution 660, demanding the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of iraqi forces. A whole series of . Resolutions followed leading to Resolution 678 on nov. 29. It authorized member states in cooperation with Kuwait to use a fall necessary Means to uphold the . Demands. This was our warrant. In the pejorative phrase this was our cover. Ostensibly the president marshalled a Force of 600,000 troops and formed a coalition of 28 nations for one reason Only this was to enforce the 12 resolutions of the Security Council. As a Good and. Loyal member of the United nations we would take on a costly and difficult task. Someone had to do it. The ostensible goal was explicitly understood we were there to restore the lawful government of Kuwait. That objective now has been achieved. The Mission has been accomplished. The Emir has returned to his Gold plated faucets. A . Force is to patrol the Border Between Iraq and Kuwait. This War is Over. Our License has expired. In the world of International affairs appearances often count for More than substance. The Hardwood of reality gets covered by a veneer of legality. Everyone knows the United states had no real interest in restoring the Emir of Kuwait. Apart from the gentleman a luxury Loving family who cares we plunged into this War for two reasons that were clearly in our National interest it would have been unseemly to cite them openly. The first was Oil. The second was Saddam Hussein. The Western world must have Access under fair terms to the Oil resources of the Middle East. This Access plainly was imperilled by the character of Saddam Hussein. The compelling argument that won Over a reluctant Senate in january had to do with Saddam a prospects for developing atomic weapons. If the Snake were not deranged now the Job would have to be done later a and a a later would be worse. Last week Saddam accepted the harsh terms of the United nations Resolution for a cease fire. His military units have been Cut to pieces. He must surrender chemical and biological weapons. His pledge to abandon a nuclear adventure will be strictly monitored. With his capitulation the last justification for a massive . Military presence disappears. We Are police without a lawful warrant for anyone a arrest. If the eager advocates of a do something were to prevail the carefully erected facade would collapse. The coalition would dissolve a it already has dissolved. The United states going alone would have to accept responsibility for the government of Iraq for some indefinite time to come. What puppet would we impose upon Baghdad what possible gain lies in armed intervention Public policy would sink in the swamps of ancient ethnic hatreds. This is none of our business. A the fee of Coj Grbo amp be. Mou that us Hobo Roix Well it is said Honor demands intervention. In some Way president Bush has a a betrayed the kurdish people. This is nonsense. Yes Bush exhorted the iraqi people to cast off their dictator but his rhetoric never amounted to a pledge to Send airborne divisions to their Aid. Old rules of foreign policy Are sound rules. We should carry a big stick said Theodore Roosevelt. Exactly. But we should also walk softly. It is time to come quietly Home. Cd Universal press Syndicate. 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