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Show Editorial The Dally Utah Chronicle - Page Six U.S. must not foe Thursday. January 11, 1990 fooled by Salvadoiran leaders violations is as brutal Many observers of the seemingly endless record of human-right- s war in El Salvador were surprised to hear as it is endless. To make matters worse, President Alfredo Cristiani's announcement Cristiani's accession to power last year that members of the Salvadoran military were resulted in even greater repression. involved in the heinous slayings of six Jesuit Now the Salvadoran government is priests, their housekeeper and her daughter receiving more than $1 million per day from on Nov. 16. the United States. politicians in Cristiani called the crime "abominable" and this country, like Sen. Chris Dodd, said that "some elements of the armed forces" argue that nirther assistance to El Salvador is participated in the murders. He added that necessary to strengthen the "moderates." detectives from the United States, Spain and Buit Cristiani and his sidekick, Major Scotland Yard were participating in the Roberto D'Aubuisson, believed by many to be Pro-Cristia- ni D.-Mai- ne, to El Salvador, was trying to discredit Lucia Barrera, who witnessed the miirders Barrera,-whhas been hiding out in the United States, o said she witnessed Salvadoran military soldiers murder the priests. Now Cristiani admits Barrera was in fact correct. The military was responsible for the deaths of the Jesuit priests. Nevertheless, it is odd Cristiani did not call for a rigorous investigation the day the priests were killed. One can only assume Cristiani realized he could no longer protect the murderers. Rather than viewing Cristiani's investigation. Cristiani even estimated the the organizer of the death squads, have culprits might be captured within a matter of proven themselves time and time again to be demonstration investigation as a cause to continue pumping millions of dollars into the days. To his supporters in Washington, D.C., two sides of the same coin. it sounded as if Cristiani meant business. Shortly after the priests were murdered, the Salvadoran military, Congress needs to Yet, for those familiar with the history of Christian Science Monitor's El Salvador carefully reassess its El Salvador policy. No ARENA party, the correspondent Chris Norton was one of the one, least of all Congress, should be deceived Cristiani's investigation should provide ample reason few reporters to point out that the Cristiani into supporting the ARENA'S repressive ultra-righti- st government, along with the U.S. ambassador agenda. for skepticism. The Salvadoran government's Letters Anything better than our overpriced medical system Editor: Usually find most of the columns written in the Chronicle extremely distasteful I and just the liberal drivel found also deny them adequate health care because they cannot pay for it. Socialized medicine would be the best thingPresident Bush could do for the taxpayers of America. I would gladly take the money I now spend for health care and give, it to the government for socialized health in Bezerkly, California, .but I must say I agree wholeheartedly with Lori Hunt's column about the U.S. medical system in . Monday's paper. I have felt for a care. health-car- e that time costs doctors long (whose Many are ridiculously high because opinions are worthless since members of the health-car- e "private medicine is their "Gravy profession feel that being a 'Why is the U. Editor: 15 through the U. bookstore generally takes over a month to Chris Aggeler- A few can special order textbook ordered percent less than the University of Utah LX I mail order my textbooks and regularly pay 20 percent less than our bookstore would charge? And why is it that a of the same textbooks we require in our engineering classes for up to Bookstore so expensive?' bookstore? Why is it that Someone please educate me: Why is it that Salt Lake Community College sells some doctor is a quick way to make a buck at the expense of Joe Blow. The oath that all doctors take should be called "hypocritic" oath. I receive when can make one phone call (toll free, naturally) and get almost any book within the have lived in foreign countries and I have seen how much better their health-car- e systems are compared to this mess we call the "best in the world." It is a shame that not only do we screw people by I a week? ... Patrick McMurty assistant professor-mechanicengineering forcing them to live in al crime-infeste- d drug-an- d inner cities, we Train") would argue that it would be a bigger mess if the government took over, but, anything would be better we have to put up with now. We have examples of the. virtues of socialized medicine all around us in the world. A socialized system will benefit than-wha- t all Americans, not just the elite bastards in the health-car- e profession. Jeffrey Okleberry senior electrical engineering - Bush could learn from world's movers, shakers days ago, the drab smudge among a of banana republic by over 20,000 U.S. troops from all branches of page of the New York Times was ' dynamic movers and shakers graced with the words of Costa" attempting to fundamentally .the service. What an amazingly Rica's president, Oscar Arias ; improve their own nations as bold move by our progressive, Sanchez, who expounded the well as the world as a whole. In leader. ' , benefits his nation has enjoyed addition These are almost unbelievable to Arias, since eliminating its armed Czechoslovakia's Vaclav Havel times we live in, with East forces more than 40 years ago. is the closest thing this world European nations shedding their Arias, whose nation ven went has seen in recent times to oppressive governments on an as far as having schoolchildren Plato's of the almost daily basis and ideal and the proclaiming their intentions to redesign its police uniforms in "philosopher-king,- " order to eliminate all military godfather of them all, foster and democracy claimed "to Gorbachev, continues to push meaningful influences, economic demilitarize the country means through Soviet reform and improvement. In the midst of to make a profound decision." such an atmosphere, it is time preach world peace. ' In our own country, though, It is invigorating to hear a for the United States to stop leader of state express such Bush and his advisers continue stagnating, both politically and op-e- d line-u- p . . " 1 The ideas. enlightened more is even experience invigorating after one has been forced to listen to the stale, jingoistic rhetoric George Bush used to carry himself into office and has continued to expound over the last year. Indeed, as one glances over the global political scene, the U.S. leadership appears as a to pursue headlined by a a non-agen- da macho "drug war" that attacks the problem's symptoms rather than its causes. Just how nonexistent any strong leadership has been in the White House was demonstrated when U.S. citizens from coast to coast experienced media-induce- d orgasms over the invasion of a economically, and start some meaningful changes of its own. One area that needs fundamental rethinking in this nation is defense spending. With the Soviet Union withdrawing large numbers of conventional forces in Europe, a corresponding reduction in U.S. forces is inevitable. Leaders in this country are attempting to , avoid the inevitable, though; they see the need for a "restructuring" in the armed could desperately use a slice of the billions of dollars wasted killing every year on high-tec- h forces rather than a real change. , devices. Bush needs to stop These same leaders used the telling the homeless to wish U.S. intervention in Panama, upon one of the thousand points three weeks ago to further their of light, and instead actually do cause. Super-secrF117A something about the problem. Stealth fighters, for example, Obviously, the United States were used during the invasion, cannot afford to emulate Costa when their presence in the area Rica at this, time, and its was completely unnecessary. government does not require the zealots were kind of major overhauls Pentagon desperately using the invasion occurring in Eastern Europe and to get the attention of the Soviet Union. There are, et congressional budget-maker- s. Hopefully, congressional leaders will be able to see these attacks on the hapless Panama Defense Forces' for what they were and will not slow necessary cuts in defense spending. v , routed Money away from the Defense Department, after all, can be concentrated, on solving some of the more glaring social problems facing our nation today. The tragic homeless crisis however, important lessons Bush and others can learn irom some of the vital forces in the world today. If our nation continues on its current course, we could very well replace the Soviet Union as the gray, chaneeless bureaucracy in the next century. The public needs to move its eyes away from petty victories in Panama and start looking for more important r victories at home. |
