European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - February 11, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse Thursday february 1 11993 commentary the stars and stripes a Page 15 Shultz showed rare integrity for Reagan Cabinet William Safire the obstacle to everything i want to do Bill Casey told me in 1984,"is when i expressed Surprise that George Bush had asserted himself the Cia chief ruffed no no the vice president is on our Side it s Georg Shultz who stands in the now we Are beginning to see How the principled resistance of the Best Cabinet officer in recent history failed to save two presi dents from the blundering and deceit that so tarnished their reputation was presi-1 Dent Reagan aware that his agents were offer ing Iran a Ransom of arms to buy Back hostages was George Bush a full participant in that demeaning decision despite his fre quent protestations of being out of the Loop the answer to both questions Accord ing to the first part of former Secretary of state Shultz s memoirs excerpted in time Magazine is a dismaying his eyewitness evidence shows that Reagan lied to himself sticking to a script deny ing reality Bush lied Only to investigators and the Public. On nov. 9, 1986, Bush tried to sell Shultz the cover Story about the strategic importance of Iran Shultz reminded him that 10 months earlier Bush sat Mut while Shultz and Secretary of defense Caspar w. Weinberger vigorously opposed any arms for hostages Deal. Shultz put Bush on notice that he could no truthfully claim ignorance. Next Day adm. John m. Poindexter the National Security adviser broke the news to the secretaries of state and defense that Reagan had signed a find ing months before to try to legalize the shipments of missiles. Shultz asked incredulously if the mis Siles had been sent in the context of hos Tage releases How can you say this is not an arms for hostages Deal the presi Dent jumped in with it s not linked but Poindexter undercut that fake excuse with a revealing counter question How else will we get the hostages out As Shultz writes now in this Flash of Candor had ripped away whatever veil was left to the notion of a changed Iran As the rationale for our arms know nov that a Cabal of High officials a Casey Bud Mcfarland and his successor at the Csc Poindexter abetted by Bush manipulated a hos Tage obsessed president into a an appeasement of kidnappers and b a conspiracy to keep this shameful dealing from lawful oversight. This was com pounded by the diversion of arms Sale Money to the nicaraguan contras but Casey probably did not let Reagan and Bush in on that. What docs this look into the Shultz Book Tell us about the Bush presidency first that George Bush As he repeat edly denied knowledge of the Ransom scheme was living a lie. Second it explains James Baker s detestation of Shultz his predecessor at state. Shultz had officially reprimanded John Kelly the ambassador who conspired with the White House Cabal to circumvent the Secretary of state in therms deals but Baker promoted Kelly to head the near East Bureau. Mcfarland s Deputy Jock Covey prob ably helped the iranian appeasement along Baker brought him into state Skelly s Deputy ironically Kelly and Covey also Jed Baker and Bush into Iraq Gate these two Joe its folks of diplomacy sup at the Public trough to this Day third it shows How much damage one Ultra secretive anti democratic National Security aide can get away with Poindexter convicted by a jury of five counts of misleading obstructing and lying walked free on Appeal. What warning docs the Shultz Memoir hold for the Clinton administration Only last week the Man Clinton chose to head the Cia refused to Promise the Senate that he would notify Congress of a Covert action finding within 48 hours fits signing. James Woolsey claimed the administration did not know whether a notification requirement would be apparently Clinton wants the same Freedom from oversight exploited by Reagan and Bush. These Guys never learn. Congress should hold the Cia nomination hostage to a written guarantee of no More executive Bucca Neering. But measures can Only do so much we can Hope that among the members of the Clinton National Security Council there is at least one person with the integrity and guts of George p. Shultz. C tit new York Terr i nation s governors s Langu no president has spent More time with the nation s governors at their annual midwinter Washington meeting than Bill Clinton did last week. And it seem Likely that no president Ever has enjoyed their company see Clinton with his old buddies from the statehouse is to see him at his Best relaxed an funny at one moment serious knowledgeable and engaged the next. More than the members of the Cabinet or Congress these men and women Are at least forthe moment Clinton s real Peers. And heir spirit is what he is trying to bring to Washington. The theme of their program the need to make hard choices is exactly what he is trying to communicate As he prepares his economic strategy. Their priorities As stated on the cover of the meeting Agenda Are his restore the National savings rate reduce the fed eral deficit reorient Public spending renew citizen during the governors four Day gathering in the Capi Tal i got my hands on the state of the state addresses that 15 of them had delivered to their Legislatures Dur ing the past month. In Many respects they foreshadow what the country is Likely to hear from Clinton in his feb. 17 state of the Union address. The governors talks arc couched in the rhetoric of Reform. They recognize As Clinton does that the Pace and scale of change moving through this country and the world leave them no Choice but to prod their states into action. South Carolina s Republican governor Carroll a. Campbell pointed out that a decision in 1992 to build a billion Dollar Bow facility near the Greenville Spartanburg Airport had topped off the highest rate of for eign investment in the state s , he argued it is time to merge the state Highway commission for decades an Independent political powerhouse with the separate Airport and railway bodies into a single department of transportation capable of planning for the state s future needs. Wisconsin s Tommy g. Thompson also a Republican noted that an Export Boom has helped create285,000 new jobs in six years. He said it is time to expand a Pilot program in youth apprenticeships from the printing Trade to As Many As 20 other industries this year in order to provide opportunities for youths who Are not College bound Ana to meet the demand for skilled workers. Campbell and Thompson Are regarded As staunch conservatives. But they understand As Clinton does that status quo government docs not work in a time of change. The governors big issues track closely with Clinton s in creasing the Pace of economic growth improving education curbing health care costs mov ing people off welfare. And doing All this without running up further deficits. It is striking How Little partisanship or ideology creeps into these speeches. New York gov. Mario m. Cuomo a Democrat touts work As the closest thing to a Panacea for social problems. Ohio gov. George v. Voinovich a Republican brags of increasing state financing for the head Start program by 83 percent in two years an promises that All eligible youngsters will be served by the end of his term. In the political lexicon Cuomo is a Liberal and Voi Novich a conservative. But these labels give few clues to the overlap in perspectives and priorities they share. Many of the governors Are proposing Steps that would be considered Radical on Capitol Hill. The charter school idea which was pioneered in Minne Sota is being copied in several places across the coun David s. Broder try. It lets school superintendents give groups of teach ers or others with innovative ideas a charter to run a school under contract with the state. It permits the the Freedom to test their ideas while holding them accountable for the results. Illinois gov. Jim Edgar a Republican is concerned about the severe school problems in Chicago. He proposes creating an Enterprise zone for Educa Tion within the City where regulations could be waived and budgets realigned so Long As every expenditure enhances a child s Connecticut gov. Lowell p. Weicker jr., a former Republican elected As an Independent is proposing to crack the nut of de Facto segregation and finance Fin equities Between suburbs and Center cities by taking the Issue head on. Weicker would Divide his state into six regions and require that within five years the local school districts within each Region reflect its racial mix Ture. He is not the Only one tackling the race Issue and its symbols with rare Candor. Georgia gov. Zell Miller a Democrat one of Clinton s close friends and key sup porters eloquently exhorted his legislature to rescind the 1956 Law that incorporated the Confederate Battle Flag into the design of Georgia s state Banner. The Law he said was passed by die hard segregationists who were prepared to eliminate our Public schools and even prohibit our College football teams from competing against teams with Black players i bowl games. We have Long since repudiated every element of those shameful 1956 Days of Defiance except for the Flag they Miller s Challenge to close the door on the past and move on to a better future is the message the governor brought to Washington. That s Why Clinton welcomed them. C the
