European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 30, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse Monday May 30,. 1994 commentary the stars and stripes Page 13 As president Clinton salutes the heroic history of a Day hell be confronting history of his own personal and political. At the same time he a trying to counter Republican attacks and ease selective democratic dissatisfaction Over his foreign policy. That s a demanding Mission for the right Day journey abroad he begins wednesday ceremony and commemoration at the 50th anniversary of the Normandy invasion on june 6, 1944, dominate the schedule although there will be talks with the leaders of Italy great Britain and France. The Post world War ii cliche was that politics should Stop at the Waters Edge so. That the american voice overseas would be authoritative not subject to partisan discord that never really worked even the Republican who coined the line was soon assailing the democratic foreign policy of the Early 1950s. Another Republican echoed the adage in the House the other Day rep. Doug Bereuter of Nebraska saying that despite it he a remain silent in the face of the increasingly troublesome Drift in american foreign policy the lesson of history said rep. Robert Michel the Republican Leader is Clear consistent and cruel a a loss of credibility in the Field of policy is the prelude to the loss of lives on the Field of Michel said rhetoric Charm and Good intentions wont suffice. A president must have firm foreign policy and National Security principles Walter r. Mears and Clinton a signals have been confused and often conflicting Michel said. Clinton a Haiti policy was argued in the House. It then voted narrowly to oppose . Military intervention an option Clinton has said he cannot Rule liberals and conservative critics agree Only that they Arentt satisfied with administration efforts to Deal with the military regime that ousted the elected president got personal in the Senate republicans blocked confirmation of an it Onti Vietn Effii War jut visa Clinton nominated for a diplomatic Post. A i am reminded of president Clinton a letter to the draft Board in which he mentioned that he loathed the military a said sen. Don Nickles of Oklahoma. The 1969 letter was not to the draft Board. Clinton wrote an Roth colonel who had helped him stay out of the Vietnam draft saying he wanted to explain How people come to find themselves still Loving their country but loathing the military.�?��?T. \ that a part of the baggage he carries As a commander in chief who avoided military service in an unpopular War. And As a Rhodes scholar at Oxford University he organized demonstrations against it. George Bush a world War ii Pilot denounced that As disloyal during the 1992 Campaign. In earlier elections that might have been damaging. In the last one it never caught on. Clinton in Normandy will be spanning a political generation Gap honouring the veterans and the dead of a War that ended before he was born he is probably the last president whose personal military service will be an Issue. His postwar predecessors were military veterans. His successors May not be. Nearly three quarters of the . Population was born after a Day. My a the Challenge for your generation is to remember the deeds of those who have served before you and now to build on their work in a new and very different world a Clinton told naval Academy graduates at Annapolis last wednesday. A the world wars Are Over the cold War has been won. A now it is our Job to win the he offered guidelines for one of the questions bearing Down on his administration it where and when to use . Military Force. A. A. A a there is no magic formula he said no absolute lines. A after All the Mere possibility of american Force is itself a potent weapon All around the world a he said. A but this is Clear. A we must he willing to fight to defend our land and our people. To protect our vital interests. To protect our with that and with an Effort to Steep himself in the history of the War before his time Clinton embarks for Normandy. One More line from his 1969 draft letter bears repeating. A the draft was justified in world War ii because the life of the people collectively was at stake a the Young Clinton wrote then. A individuals had to fight if the nation was to survive for the lives of their countrymen and their Way of c the associated press Day a time to reflect on obligations on this memorial Day Holiday and with the approaching 50th anniversary of a Day on everyone a mind it is a time for acknowledging the debt the living owe the dead. And equally it is a time for reflection on the obligations that heritage of sacrifice imposes. Many have spoken to those themes in recent Days none better i think than president Clinton and retired Gen. Colin a Powell. The words of Washington officials tend to be devalued but these deserve to be read without the stain of cynicism that besmirched so much of our thought. The common theme of Clinton and Powell is the Paradox that confronts almost any thoughtful person Why is there such hopelessness and ill temper among Young americans when the events of their lifetime should give them such Confidence in this nation and its prospects in commencement addresses the president and the general both referred to the extraordinary changes that have occurred in the world just in the four years since the class of 1994 entered school. As Clinton noted at Gallaudet Urcla and the naval Academy and Powell pointed out at Howard University the graduates College years have seen the end of the cold War the fall of the Berlin Wall the breakup of the soviet Union the election of the first Democrat Cally chosen government in Russia the agreement of Israel and the Palestine liberation organization to self Rule in Gaza and the end of apartheid and the establishment of a freely elected Multi racial government in South Africa. The heroes of these changes a from Gorbachev and Yeltsin to de Quot Klerk and Mandela a Are people old enough to have witnessed a Day even if they were not and Clinton also referred to the 40th anniversary of the Brown is. Board of education decision ending racial segregation in Public schools. That was achieved largely by lawyers and justices no longer living. In speaking of these events to Young people a generation younger than themselves Poncil 57, and Clinton 47, voiced an anxiety about the mind set of members of their audience that is i think widely shared. Powell speaking on a Campus where advocates of Black nationalism tinged with anti semitism occasionally have drawn Large crowds said that the recent acts of reconciliation in the Middle East and South Africa a have shown How you can join hands to create a Force of moral authority More powerful than any army a Force which can change the a there is a message in these two historic events a he a said. A a. A a a a was the world goes Forward we cannot Start going backward. African americans have come too far and we have too far yet to go to take a Detour into the swamp of in Stern tones Powell said to the Howard graduates a you have been Given Cit David s. Broder i Enship in a country like hone other on Earth with opportunities available to you like nowhere else on Earth. What will be asked of you is hard work nothing will be handed to you. Use your education and your Success in life to help those still trapped in cycles of poverty and violence. A above All never lose Faith in America its faults Are yours to fix not to Clinton was possibly less eloquent and certainly less succinct than Powell was in those nine powerful final words i have quoted. But his thoughts were moving in much the same direction a and reflected the same concern. It came through most clearly in the least rhetorical of his recent talks some comments he made to youngsters at the Martin Luther King Middle school in Bellville md., on May 17. After telling them How much he and they both owed to the people who had fought to desegregate schools the president said a you look at what the problems Are today. Is there still racism in America today. A of course there is. Is there too much violence today especially among Young people of course. A Marc there still too Many people who Don t think they re going to get a fair shake in life and done to think they have much of a future to look Forward to of course there Are a he talked about the initiatives he has launched to expand the Economy improve schools make streets safer. ,. A. A. A but he said a it All begins with personal choices so what Are you going to do a a you have to decide that you will not drop out of school. A you have to decide that you will not use alcohol or drugs or take up guns. A you have to decide that you will not become a Mother or a father before you re old enough to understand and take responsibility and do the Job right instead of wrecking your life with a the whole future of the country a the president said a is Riding on whether we can have Young people who Are Well educated Well disciplined hopeful about the future and More interested m helping each other than hurting each other More interested in books than guns my it re interested in five years from now than five seconds from this is a time of National Stock taking. And the thoughts of the general and the president Are Good starting Points for taking Stock. C Washingion Post ,
