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Show Msltna pmnml OPINIONS tf exceUemct.' EPITCXt: MARK EDOtNCTON tell 344-25- ff A7 THE DAILY HERALD MONDAY. CXTOBLR 26. IM dHniMirsKsy It was startling to hear U.S. Sen. Christopher (Kit) Bond, recently declare during a campaign debate that America ought to consider assassination as a foreign policy strategy. Appearing before the Jewish Community Relations Council in St. Louis, Bond suggested that the United States consider killing leaders such as Saddam Hussein. Bond is not alone in this view. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, and former Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger have both expressed support for repealing President Gerald Ford's executive order barring any US. agencies, such as the CIA, from launching assassination attempts. Yet that does not make it right or smart. To end the ban is to invite immediate trouble and, ultimately, retaliation from international terrorists and hostile nations. Who decides what criteria determine whether a foreign leader will live or die? Prohibiting the assassination of foreign leaders was good policy when it was enacted 22 years ago, and is , good policy now. This editorial appeared recently in the Detroit Free Press. EDITORIAL ROUXDU? i The waning days of the 105th Congress saw some unseemly devi-ousnes- s, cheap shots and chutzpah. Like children testing their parents' patience, some sought to see how far t they could push legislation, knowing it could mean shutting down the government. Ringleaders were House veto-bai- Republicans who weighed down essen- tial legislation with riders doing favors for special interests usually oil, timber and mining at the expense of taxpayers. Knowing that the measures would never survive open and honest discussion, the legislators slyly tucked them, like ticks in a bedroll, into the folds of the appropriations bills. Twenty Western House Republicans then compounded guilt with gall by signing a letter urging President Clinton not to threaten to veto appropriations bills they had poisoned. Shades of Orwell A This editorial appeared recently in the Des Moines (Iowa) Register. Not surprisingly, both Republicans and Democrats are claiming victory. In this euphoria it should be noted that while a number of measures were approved during this session of Congress, vitally important measures like comprehensive tobacco legislation, a patient's bill of rights and campaign finance reform were left unresolved. ... The final budget compromise was heavy on new spending, straining the fiscal restraints agreed to a year ago. At the same time, with the country possibly teetering on the edge of a global recession, additional federal spending is just what the Keynesian economists would prescribe to keep the American economy in growth mode. Republicans prefer tax cuts, but increases in federal spending have a similar effect in stimulating the economy. The global economy cannot avoid recession if the United States falters. The arrest in London of former Chilean dictator Gen. Augusto Pinochet may be gratifying to those who rightfully condemn the atrocities of his brutal regime. Unfortunately, his arrest is likely to result in less justice and rule of law in the world, not more. No one familiar with the history of Pinochet's rule can argue that he does not deserve to be made to answer for that regime's campaign of murder, torture and unjust detention following the fatal overthrow of Chilean President Salvador Allende. Also, the retired dictator is not an accredited diplomat nor a visitor to the United Kingdom on official business. But while the Spanish judge who requested Pinochet's detention may have been within his rights in seek- - ' ing to question Pinochet about the murder and torture of Spanish citizens in Chile, he goes too far in expanding the potential charges to the murder of Chilean citizens, genocide and crimes against humanity. Can any nation prosecute any person for crimes against humanity committed in any country, as the Spanish judge states? The result would be anarchy. This editorial apppeared recently in the Albuquerque (N.M.) Journal. This editorial appeared recently in the Houston Chronicle. Finally, less than three weeks before Election Day and four emergency appropriations extensions later, Congress reached an agreement on the final portion of the nation's $1.7 trillion budget. feel-goo- d T6HT TbanSIl THAT ns,"TH 17-ye- boy LETTERS TO THE EDITOR speaks against homosexuals. He is rushed inside and scolded. The entire student body is subjected to sensitivity indoctrination. The boy is suspended from school. So much for freedom of speech. Spooky Orwellian. Meanwhile, demonstrators are banned while city blocks are barricaded to accommodate the mass media in their broadtake on cast of the hate crimes. Spooky Orwellian. Students can use vulgar language that disgusts nearly everyone. An atheistic minority can taunt and ridicule the pious. Truth can be slain state-sanctione- d with spins and takes. And in Utah, there is a boy who really understands the First Amendment. Craig Stutz Orem It's not the sex, stupid! You recently published yet another letter from one of Mr. Clinton's apologists stating that the president's sex life is none of our business and that the investigation into the Lewinsky affair is an invasion of the president's privacy To Gabrielle Fritze and all those who share this point of view, the following must be stated over and over: It's not the sex, stupid! It's perjury and attempting to UatH6?3 cover up his relationship with Ms. Lewinsky. Clinton repeatedly lied under oath, told others to lie under oath, and tried to use the power of the presidency to obstruct justice and prevent the truth from being known. Any lawyer that did this would be instantly disbarred. Richard Nixon was forced to resign for a similar offense. It's the abuse of power a situation in which a person of authority uses his position to seduce a subordinate. No matter if it is consensual or not, this Hs' GAV same situation would constitute grounds for immediate dismissal in businesses, universities and the military It's the security risk: If the president is so lacking in control regarding women, he is ripe for exploitation, blackmail and control by foreign intelligence agencies. All it would woman with no take is a morals, a modern Mata Hari. The old KGB agents were experts in this, and they have left plenty of disciples among nations not friendly to us. If Clinton has any shred of decency or love for this country, he should follow Nixon's example and resign. Luis E. Arzola Provo good-lookin- g THE DAILY HERALD LETTERS POLICY The Daily Herald welcomes letters to the editor. Letters must be signed and include the author's name, address and daytime telephone number for verification. The writer's name and city of residence will be published, but the writer's address and phone number will not. Whenever possible, letters should be typed and double spaced. To allow the expression of as many viewpoints as possible, letters must be no longer than 400 words; 250 words or less is encouraged. The Herald reserves the right to edit letters for length and con- tent. ty discussion of issues. However, we will not publish letters that are libelous or in bad taste. Letters written anonymously will be discarded. Please send your letters to: Editor The Daily Herald P.O. Box 717 1555 N. Freedom Blvd. Provo, UT. 84603 Letters may also be faxed or The fax number is address is: ldean( The 373-548- If you have questions, call Opinions Page Editor Mark or Managing Eddington at Editor Mike Patrick at 344-254- The Herald encourages communi 4 344-254- Military readiness has suffered terribly under President Clinton's watch In a large room in the basement of the United States Capitol Building, a group of dissidents met last week. They do not fear for their lives, but they are anxious and frustrated nonetheless. It was a gathering sponsored by the Center for Military Readiness to discuss the utter folly of pretending that women are men. The initial awkwardness between the commander in chief and the military he commands received some press attention a few years ago. But what this administration has done to the military in the intervening six years has gotten scant notice, And that had better change. ; Military readiness under Bill Clinton's watch has suffered terribly, Morale is very low. And attrition is Ijeaving the Air Force with a shortage df pilots and the Navy with a shortage of officers. ; Because the Clinton administration has been determined to advance tjie cause of women in combat, the together in tents in Bosnia, or that the flaccid sexual morality of the larger society was influencing the Army, or that it was unwise to give male drill sergeants total control over female recruits. No, Madeline Morris suggested that the Army had failed to encourage an "incest taboo" between male and female soldiers who should have been trained to see themselves as brothers and sisters. And Sara Lister, the Army's former personnel chief, said the Marine Corps was an "extremist" organization that "frightened" her. Consider these facts: 1) According to The Washington Times, 16 percent of the female contingent on any warship are airlifted out during the course of a year as pregnancies become advanced. 2) In Bosnia, reports The Wall Street Journal, there was one new pregnancy every three days. 3) At basic training centers around the nation, Aberdeen, Fort Jackson, MY TURN H(vC fry; Mona Charen military has been plagued by sexual harassment, rape, pregnancy and low morale, Former Army Secretary Togo West hired a Duke University professor to advise him on these matters, and she returned with a recommendation that the Army tone down its "masculinist" culture. The problem, she explained, was not that young healthy male and female recruits were being billeted Fort Leonard Wood and the Great Lakes Training Center, extreme instances of sexual harassment have been reported. At the Great Lakes Center, five instructors were charged with gross misconduct, including throwing a mattress on the floor and ordering female recruits to undress. The only service to avoid sexual harassment problems is the Marines, which segregates the sexes. 4) Adm. Jay Johnson, chief of naval operations, told the Senate last winter that the Navy needs 65 percent of Hornet pilots to stay in the service, but only 43 percent are doing so (despite a 12 percent raise). A Arairy Times survey found that 75 percent of current enlistees do not plan to continue in the service after their commitment is up. Fifty percent of officers cited "loss of confidence in leadership" as the reason for their departure. 5) 77ie San Antonio Express-Newreports that the Air Force now has 800 fewer fliers than it needs, and it F-1- 8 may take a decade to correct the shortage. Air Force Col. Jim Green told the Express-News- , "I'd say we're going into a situation that is four times worse than we've ever seen in the history of our modern Air Force." What has sapped the spirit of the military? Could it be unfair promotion of women at men's expense? Could it be a climate of political correctness in which a male officer risks his career for even noticing that women are conCould it sistently be resentment that men pick up the slack when women cannot do the "heavy lifting" of military life and then watch in frustration as women are promoted for public relations? When the last Democratic president left office, soldiers and sailors were on food stamps. Will the legacy of this president be a military more suited to group therapy than war? under-performing- ? s Mona Charen is a columnist for Creators Syndicate Inc. 4 By Qoonesbury on rye i IHSAKUt NQAIJCf. 1 &HTTHNOT IV 3 urmrne InJTlbX amxm rus&rr sanesoopneus. 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