European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 09, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse Tuesday. Novembers. 1993 commentary the stars and stripes Page 13 Stephen Rosenfeld the defining political idea of the cold War was constancy the notion that we had to live up to our commitments and finish what we started whatever the Cost test the adversary perceive a shortfall of will and inflict awful notion was carried to a daunting extreme and discredited in Vietnam but in recent Yean a contrary but scarcely less extreme notion has spread that con Stancy realty does t matter that much at All. The argument is that there is no other threatening global Force now relentlessly testing our Security is in that sense i but this is too Quick a conclusion. Constancy does still in t that violations of it Are Cost free. It s that we re still learning what the True costs Are. To imagine that acts of unilateral political convenience and retrenchment have no real world consequences is to invite an endless nibbling away at our International standing and an Ero Sion of global stability that a some Point makes a Stark qualitative difference. Take the recent report that the United nations has spurned a desperate Appeal for . Troops to be sent to Calm the latest ghastly tribal clashes in , i Don t think it s urgent to save Burundi. It s a trag Edy. It lost the lottery. Who has the Energy for a mis Sion to that unhappy country in the United nations it was evident All around that peacekeeping is already perilously overextended. The Issue was not even brought to a Security Council let there be no celebrating of the United nations restraint and discretion. This is a somber moment for the world body. The United nations May be shortening its list of cares but by joining up its Mem Ber states became eligible for a full Range of benefits including Security and Burundi is now losing out online or death services that had supposedly been Avail Able to Many other nations Are going to lose out similarly How Many political decisions Are going to remade differently As the word spreads that there is Nei ther a us. Nor a . Cop on the beat Boutros Boutros Ghali . Secretary Gener Al addressed this tender and chilling Issue in a washing ton Post interview the other Day. He has been much abused by some of his Bosses the member states for try ing to draw them into delivering on Security Council peacekeeping commitments that they undertook an now want to Back out of. If the members Are not up to enforcement in Somalia and elsewhere he said Best to withdraw or not set out Down the Road in the first place. This would leave the Somalia and Burundi not to speak of the Bosnia very much in the lurch. But it would have the virtue of sparing the United nation the embarrassment of Midstream Public default this is what we have come to. In at least one pressing area nonetheless the United states is still promising constancy. With a hard line on War crimes trials in the former Yugoslavia the Linton administration seems to be saying there is a Point beyond which it will not go in abandoning the Vic Tims of serbian and croatian violence. Our . Ambassador Madeleine k. Albright addressing the com Mon fear that the United nations will let accountability for atrocities be bargained away in peace talks said that the Clinton administration will not recognize and we do not believe the International Community will recognize any Deal or Effort to Grant immunity to those accused of War sen. Arlen Specter r-pa., the Senate s bulldog on this Issue notes the sobering precedent of the Palestine liberation organization s Yasser Arafat who was Al Lowed to Trade in his notoriety As a terrorist for laurels As a peacemaker. But never mind. Let us say that Yugoslavia is in a class by itself. Not just the Clinton administration but the entity it represents the unite states has made a solemn commitment to Salvage some Honor in Bosnia. Has t it c the Washington port local wins propel gop toward National prize to tip o Neill s dictum Al politics is local let me append satire s corollary All local politics is now nation Al. Looking from the Bottom up a local election in a television age has a National Impact. Looking from the top Down the National fixation on presidential fortunes has an effect on the decisions of voters i local elections. In the Urban base of what became Throop s 1993 triple play Republican Rudolph w. Giuliani was squeaking Pas mayor David n. Dinkins on the crime the Clinton came in and turned it into an open race race with the pres ident s inflammatory too Many of us Are still too unwilling to vote for people that Are different than we that grated on my ears he meant to say people who Are different from ourselves but grated More coarsely on the ears of. White new York liberals fed up with a passive mayor. They did not appreciate the president s lecturing them about How their anti incumbent vote were motivated by racism. In this Way Clinton nationalized the City s election and magnified democratic defeat. In Virginia a Stone s throw from the District of Columbia Republican George f. Allen ran against the Clinton Wilder w1luam Safire Robb set the Linton tax Dou ble crossing an the Clinton government control led health plan. Local democrats afflicted with voter distaste at their National policies were reduced to running against fear of the religious right they succeeded Only in knocking off a Novice running for lieutenant governor. In the will help steer Virginia rightward in National Jersey was the big one. The defeat of democratic gov. Jim Florio was rooted in the most National of issues tax increases and had the greatest Impact. Liberals were saying for weeks that new Jersey was the key Battleground this year because they thought a Florio Victory would endorse Clinton stax increases. But the Winner. Christie Whitman promised tax cuts for economic growth and her Victory is a blow to Campaign strategist de Rollins was a card carrying Reagan Ite Florio s James Carville is Clinton s political guru who should change his favorite sign to Mit s the taxation what do last week s three for three gop victories added to three for three earlier this year mean for National poli tics the impossible is now possible Republican control of the. . Senate is within reach which would effectively end the creeping centralization of govern ment Power. Kansas sen. Robert Dole slogan is seven More in 94." looking especially vulnerable Are democrats Charles s. Robb of Virginia and Frank r. Lautenberg of new Wofford of Pennsylvania is shaky. As Are Jeff Bingaman of new Mexico an Herbert h. Kohl of Wisconsin. Harlan Mathews of Tennessee appointed to Algore s seat is a gop target As is Jim Sasser who also runs in 94. Tennessee republicans Are eager to have the vice president nationalizing their campaigns they think he can be As useful As Hilary Rodham Linton was to Dinkins and Sjanet Reno was in campaigning for Florio democratic open seats Are Donald or s in Michigan Howard m. Metzenbaum s in Ohio and Dennis de Concini s in Arizona republicans have a Good shot at All three. Of open seats now Republican Dave Durenberger s i Minnesota John c. Danforth s in mis Souri and Malcolm Wallop s in Wyoming Only Minnesota is considered vulnerable. What can turn a possibility into reality events such As election Day 1993, for starters As Dole says winning builds Confidence. Winning helps us raise Money and recruit losing works the other Way in Washington today it s hard to Tell a Democrat from a redskins fan. If republicans running As candidates of change upset the status quo in the Senate in 1994, the recent statist Drift would be corrected. Clinton would not be finished the results of his foreign eco nomic policy might save his political life but All eyes would be on the Likely re publican challengers. California gov. Pete Wilson is on the comeback Trail if re elected in 94, he and Jack Kemp both reach out conservatives will be front runners in the primaries putting the party in a win win position. What about Dole who might then be majority Leader would he give up that Power to run for president dreamily Dole says that would be Anice worry to on a
