European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 11, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Wednesday november 11. 1992 commentary 1 the stars and stripes Page 13political term limits dilute Power of the voters in the election s most aching irony the citizens who voted in exciting numbers and with vigor and care to create remarkable political changes also voted wherever possible to relinquish their right to do that again. In All 14 states where the proposition appeared voters limited the terms of their representatives and often by margins of More than 2-to-l. The idea did not just win. It catered. It Cavor Ted. It partied. And it is an astonishingly bad idea. Term limits would shift Power from the Peoples elected representatives to the bureaucracies and lobbyists. Legislative bodies would be put at a permanent disadvantage to the special in Terest hucksters who operate under no such limitations. Term limits substitute mindless churn for thoughtful voting. The Public would arbitrarily be denied the right to keep its most effective representatives. Its threat to throw the rascals out a the Public a Best tool for keeping them from becoming rascals in the first place a would be blunted. Does the current system unfairly entrench incumbents and reduce Many to virtual retail goods for pics the political action committees you bet your Sweet Constitution. But term limits would Only increase the need for Campaign contributions As competing newcomers Strain to make themselves known. The answer is not to give up our democratic rights but to exercise them. Public funding of congressional and state legislative races would neutralize pics and level the playing Field that tilts to challengers disadvantage. Even without such reforms last tuesdays voting showed the changes voters can make when they arc aroused engaged and Alert. Not Only was the presidency turned Over like a new Leaf but also Black participation in Congress jumped from 25 to 39, and women made big gains. In the Senate where there were three women in the Tom Teepen last term there will be six next year California will be represented by two female senators. In the House there will be 47 women where there Are now 28. This is not just some passing aftershock from Anita Hill. It is the beginning of what in time will be a very substantial change. And although the mobs growled and hooted earlier in the year like the peasants outside Frankenstein a Castle when the Gate finally opened yes they threw out More incumbents but prudently retained most. Still after congressional retirements primary upheavals and the general election there will be perhaps a dozen new senators next year More than a Hundred new representatives. That a a sea change. The term limit Laws will be challenged in the courts. Very Likely the Constitution will keep citizens from giving away their voting rights in Federal elections without first adopting a constitutional amendment. But even if 12-year limits the usual format do kick in the effect wont hit until the next Century. Perhaps before then we will pull Back recognizing in startled Delight that the distrust we showed in ourselves by grabbing for term limits in 1992 was proved unnecessary by the Energy commitment and creativity we demonstrated in the very same election. C Cox nows Sorvick concern for order shifts . Power to military forgotten today is that during the great depression in the 1930s, some americans saw fascism As an acceptable Way of dealing with the problems of the times. Italian dictator Benito Mussolini it was said admiringly a a made the trains run on  and Germany a Adolf Hitler was praised for putting his citizens Back to work through such massive Public works As the autobahn system. Both were hailed for a a rescuing their countries from anarchy and civil unrest. Dictatorships come to Power not through advocacy of terror and repression of human rights a those come later a but through promises to enhance human  powerful is their Promise to Stop crime quell disorders and restore Domestic Tranquillity for Given the Choice Between a lawful government and order in the streets Many people will opt for order. Seeking to forestall such a Choice the preamble to the . Constitution enshrines the imperative to a insure Domestic Tranquillity Coc qually with the need to a provide for the common  to that end with the National Security act of 1947, As amended the Congress decreed that in addition to defending the american Homeland from foreign enemies and protecting . Interests abroad the military also has the task of providing for the internal Security of the United states. Harry g. Summers or. But the Law also provides that this be accomplished Only As a last resort and always under civilian direction. Unlike the latin american a a Conquistador tradition where the military leaders see it As their duty to temporarily depose civilian leadership to restore order it is a Basic Tenet of . Democracy that even in extremes the military remains subordinate to civilian control. Now that Tenet is being eroded. One Way is through military involvement in the a a War on drugs. But there is an even More Subtle erosion at work. During the Vietnam War civilian academics and their military soul mates formulated the doctrine of  the Mission of the military was no longer to fight and win wars. It was As decreed in the army a 1968 operations manual to a create an environment of order or stability within which the instrumental ties of government can function effectively under a code of  without realizing it we had rejected the . Civil military Model in favor of the Conquistador Model. Like the Spanish conquistadors the purpose of the military in counterinsurgency operations was to a create an environment of order and Only then turn it Over to civilian control. Although counterinsurgency doctrine fell into disrepute after the Vietnam War with so Many Rice bowls involved it did not remain dormant for Long. It was resurrected As a flow intensity conflict Quot or Lic and promoted As the Model for structuring the military and As the Panacea for problems of the third world. But with the demise of the soviet Union the Zero sum third world Competition Between the United states and the soviet Union that had been licks Raison do etre came to a sudden end. Insurgencies might continue but the United states had Little interest in their outcomes. The Lic crowd seemed out of a Job. But to their Rescue came israeli military historian Martin Van arc veld. Having never before heard a shot fired in anger Van arc veld was panicked by the Arab Intifada in his Homeland. From that experience he postulated a whole new kind of War in which Lic was the wave of the future. Insuring Domestic Tranquillity would be a primary military Mission. A a o be Day the crime that is rampant in the streets of new York and Washington d.c.,&Quot he wrote a May develop into Low intensity conflict by coalescing along racial religious social and political lines and run completely out of  some think that Day has arrived. A the politicians called it a riot Quot said Newsweek a David Hackworth about the los Angeles riots. A so did the press. But soldiers Call this kind of riot something else insurgency or Low intensity conflict Lucas the army a training manuals  fortunately Hackworth does not speak for soldiers most of whom have no interest in Lic which they dismiss As a diversion from their primary War fighting duties. But some politicians Are More vulnerable to Hackworthy a inanities. There has been talk for example of deploying the National guard into the streets to fight the a War Quot on crime. As with the a War Quot on drugs such military involvement in Domestic affairs has ominous implications putting fundamental american freedoms in jeopardy. In the name of insuring Domestic Tranquillity fascism May even yet come to America. C los Angelos times Syndicate