European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - July 17, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Wednesday july 17, 1991 the stars and stripes Page 13 William Safir commentary Bush unlikely to ignore Gorbachev s tin cup i i i not since the treaty of Brest i Tomsk in 1918 a when Lenin granted Independence to Georgia the Ukraine and the Baltic states and Grove led before Germany a has a soviet Leader inflicted such humiliation on his nation. Mikhail s. Gorbachev protests that he is not a going on his Knees to beg for Money at the economic confabulation this week in London. On the contrary he will rattle his tin cup standing up even menacingly warning that chaos and War will break out if the West does not help beggar thy neighbor. The great panhandler will Combine his dire threat of nuclear anarchy with delicious incentives give us the investment capital that will permit us to convert our armaments factories to Plo share production a just As you want. Give us the Grain and consumer goods to prevent riots in the streets As we permit prices to Rise in a free Economy a just As you want. Germany France and Italy fearful of an invasion of hungry immigrants will urge the United states and Japan to underwrite the salvation of communism with a capitalist face. President Bush will be sorely tempted to take the Middle Way a a Little Money at first not a lot a and with strings attached to be Nice to separatist republics and to encourage glasnost. Bush shows signs of having Given up asking if he should help the soviet Leader maintain Power. He seems to be negotiating Only How much and when and under what conditions. If he allows himself to be drawn Down this path of gradual superpower blackmail this Summers summits will be his Yalta. The underlying Assumption of govern ment to government investment and government handout is wrong. That is their statist Way of doing business. It is not our Way. If we Are to help them at All we must first await their realization that the Only Way to attract capital is to offer incentive and the Only Way to put food on the table is to adopt the profit motive. The Way for Moscow to prevent runaway inflation when it ends subsidies and Price controls is not to promote a Black Market for Western contributed consumer goods. Better to lower the a Ruble overhang by Selling property to the people who now hold the a convertible currency. Steven Komarow the Way for Moscow to finance the conversion of War plants to consumer goods factories is not to beg for loan guarantees. It is to Stop wasting assets making tanks and planes and paying a huge standing army and to Stop subsidizing Cuba at the rate of $4.5 billion a year. The immediate cause of the collapse of the soviet Economy is the crushing Cost of the red army. Now 30 percent of All soviet production goes for arms. . Expenditure is 6 percent everyone else less than 3 percent. The reason for such huge spending was to build and police an internal and external Empire a apparently that has been set aside. The Only excuse red army and Kab generals still put Forward is to defend the motherland against a hostile world. That excuse never True is now an obvious Absurdity. What nation or Alliance would want to invade or defeat the soviet Union who would want to buy such a headache the Warsaw pact has dissolved and Napoleons route lies open. Natos response is to break up and go Home. To avoid chaos to find the Money to build a new system under private Enterprise the soviet people must bring their troops Home. Standing army stand Down. You Are crushing the people you Are supposed to protect. But if i demobilize the red army Gorbachev says not Only do i lose my Power base but i will have an army of unemployed. If i bring Home troops from Germany where will they live answer use the Money saved on War production for Home production. Give former soldiers a piece of land As their private property or Stock in a privatized company producing consumer goods. Homes will get built As never before. Private foreign capital will flow to where profit can be made in convertible currency. Will the menacing mendicant crashing the Summit hear this truth from the free world Leader not Likely. Bush will probably sign a communique to permit Kib Bitzing at the International monetary fund to raid Jacques Attalis socialist slush fund to form the Spaso House Oil Wildcat ters consortium and to merge the Muddy Waters of Harvard Scharles River with the Volga. C the new York Timos democrats a Bur under president s Saddle democrats like to make fun of John Sununu a quip last november that from president Bush a Point of View Congress could just go Home. But he probably Hasni to changed his mind. The goings on in the 102nd Congress must be like a Dull headache for the president. As news of Saddam Hussein a nuclear capability and kurdish suffering makes Bush s persian Gulf Victory seem less Complete democrats have become emboldened to Challenge him More. There a nothing yet that threatens Bush a postwar popularity or a second term in office but the democrats Are constantly finding ways to get under his skin. A a it a kind of like a gnat buzzing around him a said former democratic National committee spokesman Terry Michael. A it s not  but its constant. On almost every Bill where its relevant and some where its not the democrats have attached the Issue of abortion. They done to have enough votes to override but they re going to make Bush use that veto pen to highlight his anti abortion position. They re also using the nomination of Clarence Thomas to raise the abortion Issue along with a broader swipe at the presidents civil rights stance. They re slowly moving toward a formal investigation of charges that the 1980 Reagan Bush presidential Campaign worked to stall the release of american hostages in Iran. Bush said he would Welcome a probe to put an end to the rumours so Long As there Are no political shenanigans. They Are letting Bush a nomination for Cia director Robert Gates hang unconfirmed while seeking to answer new questions about his role in the Iran Contra affair. That has raised the political antennae of Senate minority Leader Robert Dole of Kansas. Democrats in seeking to revive the most embarrassing scandal of the Reagan administration will be looking to kill the nomination if they delay hearings past Congress August recess he said. And democrats Are extracting maximum political mileage from Bush a determination to Grant China the unconditional Trade status of most favored nation. Bush is Likely to win that Battle in the end but Victory will come Only after a Long and painful veto process with democrats repeating the history of Tiana men Square at every Opportunity. None of these issues has the Impact on Ordinary americans of say a tax Bill or health care legislation. But its about All the democrats have got to work with in these Days of budget restraint. A what you re seeing is political issues taking Over Congress said Howard Schloss a democratic political consultant with the firm of Powell Adams and Reinhart. A with the budget crunch there a just no room for legislation that costs Money. So members just done to have that option any  not that they done to try. Sen. Dale bumpers dark a wanted his colleagues on a Senate appropriations subcommittee to spend More on immunizing children against disease. But the budget agreement meant he was barred from taking the Money away from other things such As defense or the space station. A sometimes i honest to god think you have to take a stupid Pill every morning to serve in the . Senate Quot he said exasperated. Michael who worked eight years As a congressional aide before moving on to National political posts said he was exasperated too a with the congressional democrats. Too much of what they do is just sparring with Bush and nothing More no Long term vision for the party nothing that will help the democrats win the White House. A a it a typical congressional politics Quot he said. A relevant to taking Back the government not  c the asocial of Prois