European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - July 16, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Tuesday july 16, 1991 the stars and stripes a Page 13 commentary Tom Wicker Black leaders justified in Pound on the Day he lifted sanctions against South Africa George Bush complained that he was taking a a pounding a from Black leaders who did not think he cared about Blacks or civil rights. It might Well be replied Why should they a Bush not Only seemed wounded by the obtuse world he sees out there he indulged himself in bus speak a a language or something a a local Alderman might not dignify with use. A they listen we got a Good record on civil rights a said this graduate of Andover Yale and affluence. A we got a Good civil rights  hey listen we also got a president that done to talk As Good As Lincoln. Or Eisenhower neither. Bush acted on South Africa Over the protests of Nelson Mandela the african National Congress the South african Council of churches the congressional Black caucus and the a act on grounds that Progress already made toward ending apartheid was  he was convinced he said that ending sanctions also would a encourage further  those May prove to be defensible reasons certainly it remains to be seen whether lifting sanctions will further the release of the 850 political prisoners amnesty International believes still Are behind bars in South Africa. But defensible or not Bush a decision is one More in a series not Likely to endear him to most Black americans and Many Whites. You done to have to Start As far Back As sen. Bill Bradley . He cited rep. George Bush a opposition to a civil rights Bill in 1964. Begin instead with the famous Willie Horton and that helped elect Bush in 1988. He protested that the and Wasny to racist but Only asked if voters believed a in a furlough program that releases people from jail so they can go out and rape pillage and plunder  but it was a Black who was depicted in a rape pillage Leslie h. Gelb in and  Bush moreover repeated the ads false message. Most prison furlough programs have been successful in helping inmates return to straight life and no inmate Ever has been released on purpose to a go out and rape a a etc., All Over again. Then there a the civil rights Bill Bush vetoed last year and opposes in this years version. If Congress really wants a civil rights Bill he insisted a pass mine pass mine  by the same logic if the president really wants such a Bill he could a accept theirs accept theirs  but sen. John Danforth r-mo., could not negotiate a Compromise rights Bill with the Bush White House. He now says the real difference in the two measures is that the Bush version would allow employers to erect Job qualifications having no relevance to Job requirements. A Bush says the democrats Are pushing a a quota Bill a and no doubt will try to make quotas the burning Issue in 1992 that Willie Horton was in 1988. The president supports a policy upheld by the supreme court that prevents poor women from receiving information about abortion in federally funded clinics. He says he could agree to an a a acceptable Compromise but must maintain his a fundamental position a which makes Compromise hard to imagine. Now Bush has nominated Clarence Thomas to succeed Thurgood Marshall on the supreme court though Thomas is suspect among Many Blacks for his opposition to affirmative action. The congressional Black caucus opposes him and the a act has not yet decided whether to Back him. Bush defends his Choice As a the bests a not the Best Black but a the bests a but the president can hardly be surprised if those who revered Marshall s achievements done to regard Thomas As highly. More important most american Blacks Are still on the economic fringe including Many who have dead end  Cut Wusi 1 fun 1 the 0sstfv\/m4�?~ High As that of Whites. For Black youths joblessness and hopelessness Are astronomical. George Bush so fundamental position against abortion even advice about abortion hits hardest against such desperate groups. He has made Little Effort to attack or Black unemployment runs about twice As alleviate poverty and unemployment pre Ferring instead to keep pounding away for a capital gains tax break for the Rich. Denouncing quotas and deploring critics Are no substitute for economic policies that might create enough jobs to go around and Hope for All. So to repeat Why should they think he cares c the new York time Western Aid must hinge on soviet performance the London Summit ers will produce a Flop this week on the most important Issue before them a helping the soviet Union transform itself into a democracy and free Economy. Despite the careful staging a the Reform package Mikhail Gorbachev will present to the seven leaders of the Industrial world and the goodies they will give him in return a the London agreements will Flop in due course. Here a Why Gorbachev a list of Market reforms will be significant but not bold enough. That a because neither he nor Boris Yeltsin and the other democratic leaders have dared to Tell the soviet people How Long and How hard the Road to genuine Reform will be a a decade of deprivation and pain before they can Hope for an economic turnaround. The Only mandate they have sought from the soviet people is for Reform without pain a circumstance that does not inspire courageous decisions. Western leaders with the exception of the germans do not add much realism. They speak As if the soviets could establish democracy and free markets essentially with their own resources and without substantial Western Aid. That is the diplomatic equivalent of baby talk. Odds Are that soviet reforms will fail even with Western Aid. But they Are certain to fail without substantial Aid and Western leaders know this. President Bush and his fellow Summit ers will offer Gorbachev band aids and baloney. The baloney will be a tasty offer of technicians to advise on converting from defense to consumer industries and on bringing More farm produce to the cities. The band aids a such As associate membership in the International monetary fund a will help in designing reforms and triggering private investment to ventures like the soviet Oil Industry. But these actions Are not nearly sufficient to implant soviet Reform efforts. They Are merely enough for Western leaders to pretend to be doing something consequential. Yes it is politically impossible for a big 7�?� leaders to do More. But that is their own fault. They know the horrendous consequences of allowing the soviet Union to crumble. But they have not made the Case for a big Aid program to their own people. And the Case is not easy to make. A single Empire from Eastern Europe to the Pacific whether under the Czar or the soviets has mostly meant trouble. Why not just let the Empire go to pieces it would be Nice if the new pieces were democratic but who cares As Long As they will be smaller and less threatening to others. This reasoning amounts to diplomatic nihilism masquerading As hardheaded realism. Nothing could be better for Eastern european democracies than a democratic soviet federation Able to buy their goods and thereby help sustain their democracies. Nothing could be worse for Eastern Europe and the West than a single soviet Empire or even separate republics that Are tyrannical poor and nuclear armed. The West however has Little Chance to prevent a tragic outcome without a carefully designed and substantial Aid program. There is such an alternative for Western leaders to grasp and shape. But the idea known As the grand bargain has been mangled and maligned by people who obviously never bothered to study it. The grand bargain or perhaps it should be called the grand design does not seek to prop up the existing communist regime but to transform the . Into a federation of democratic republics with free markets. It does not Call for Western Aid in return for soviet promises but for Aid Only after soviet performance of promises. And it makes absolutely Clear that Aid will be delivered Only when and As the soviets slash military spending and Aid to Cuba and Afghanistan. The idea rests on two practical principles the Best Way to prod political leaders to make unpopular decisions is to let them know in Advance not after the fact the rewards for faithful performance. And the Best Way for All to take the first hard Steps is by agreeing at the outset to a joint and flexible plan and not just to play things by ear. The grand design is a set of Mutual milestones for the next six to 10 years. It is a common sense framework for soviets and westerners to work toward a common goal that would otherwise be impossible to achieve. It is thus and alas a dream. C the new York times the opinions expressed in the columns and cartoons on this Page represent those of the authors and Are in no Way to be considered As representing the views of the stars and stripes or the United states government