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Show Gagged Peace Again Reward For Unpunished Terrorists Special Features Syndicate Gales of rhetoric sweeping out of Washington toward the Mediterranean and from Tripoli across Europe to the United States appear to have obscured the reality of events in North Africa and the Middle East. The brutal reality is that terrorists have escaped once again without punishment, the peace process is at a dead stop and America is at odds with some of its oldest and most loyal allies. What have we to show in return? Two destroyers from the U.S. Middle East force based on Bahrain Monday (Jan. 13) escorted the President Taylor, an American freighter into port. The Taylor was halted and searched on Sunday (Jan. 12) by armed Iranian sailors. ,There is an American battle group built around an aircraft carrier in the Indian Ocean. There are reports that the battle group is moving north, but this is unlikely to deter the Iranians from further such actions if they fear, as they say they did on this occasion, that the Taylor might be carrying arms to Iraq. The two countries have been locked in the costly Gulf War for well over five years. Aside from this isolated and possibly futile naval deployment what does the United States have to show for weeks of tough talk? Sanctions have been imposed on Libya, certainly. We should not be surprised that most of our European allies are unimpressed. Their memories are longer than those operating in the White House. They can recall that when an earlier Mediterranean dictator, Benito Mussolini, walked into Abyssinia, as Ethiopia was then called, in the 30s, Western Europe and imposed sanctions. Sanctions had only the most limited impact on Mussolinis operations. The Italians went on and conquered Abyssinia. American sanctions may hurt Col. Moammar Khadafy who is a sort of minor-leagu- e Mussolini, but not much. Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Tunisia, the moderate Arab states, dont like the colonel. But they are not going to turn on him now. He is, after all, an Arab and, as every Arab knows, the Jews who run America forced President Reagan to impose the sanctut-tutt- tions. So Libya is getting attention and some sympathy in the Arab world. Its armaments are being reassessed within the power struc The Salt Lake Tribune, ture in the Mediterranean and the Middle East. On paper, where battles are never fought, they are formidable. Over the last decade the Soviet Union has stockpiled large amounts of heavy tanks and modern aircraft in Libya. There are 1,400 main battle tanks and 450 combat aircraft stored in Libya. The aircraft include MiG-2123s, 25s, and There also are a number of French Mirages. These are advanced aircraft and not for children or, apparently, Libyans either. The active Libyan air force with 143 MiG-23- s and 50 MiG-25- s is flown almost exclusively by Soviet, Syrian, Pakistani and North Korean pilots. Why have the Russians deposited such large stocks of weapons in Libya? The most likely guess is that in the event of a general Middle East war the weapons would be available to Arab states whose military pressure on Israel could imperil that countrys survival. Syria is the Soviet Unions chief military client in the Middle East and there are some Western intelligence sources who believe that the Syrian and not the Libyan government has been masterminding the terrorist campaign. The Syrians, at any rate, are pressing the Soviet government for more modern arms in preparation for a future clash with Israel. According to one Middle East intelligence agency, the Syrian government has asked the Russians for tanks, the newest in the Russian inventory, and for MiG-2- 9 fighters, very few of which have been deployed by the Soviet air force. As we know, Syria has received SAM-2- , SAM-surface-to-ai- r and SAM-missiles from the Soviet Union and asserts its right to deploy them where it pleases. It pleases to place them at points where they can attack and possibly shoot down Israeli reconnaissance aircraft flying over Lebanon. And what has happened to the peace process while all this and oral manslaughter has been disturbing the air waves? It has stopped dead. Why? Because while the terrorists are at work, and they will find more work this year in the Middle East, Western Europe and, quite possibly, in the United States, who can believe in protestations of peaceful intent? Certainly not the Israelis, whose border towns again are coming under intermittent rocket fire and whose citizens are targets for terrorists around the world. King Hussein of Jordan, from this corner, is sincere in his desire for peace. But at the moment he is facing two formidable obstacles. The first is the continuation of terrorism, which neither he nor any other Arab leader can check. The second is that Libya and Syria have a major stake in maintaining instability in the Middle East, by terrorism or, if necessary, by war. 1 s, 0 6 8 chest-beatin- i l I I 1 l 5 I t 1 4 1 Too Much Secrecy in Star Wars Research? New York Times Service PARIS Now comes Dr. Edward Teller, of all people, to argue that there is far too much secrecy surrounding Star Wars research and more facts should be revealed 4o the public. Teller, an ardent advocate of the Strategic Defense Initiat ve in general and the controversial y laser in particular, has been called the godfather of the program. Nobody g The Public Forum Tribune Readers Opinions Thoughts Since marijuana has become Americas largest cash crop, our lawmakers should change the outdated laws regarding its cultivation and sale and tax the growers, smugglers, dealers and users. Changing marijuana cultivation laws would give the American farmer a new product to harvest. The increased income for the farmer would revitalize the farm economy. reasonable tax could be applied to marijuana. This new source of tax revenue g could help reduce Americas deficit. These tax dollars could also be g trips for our elected spent on officials. Decriminalization of marijuana would release a lot of police officers from expensive spying chores. They could make more efficient use of their time by guarding our banks. The jails would be less crowded and there would be fewer people to process through our overworked courts. With the Legislature now in session, I suppose Utahs lawmakers will be too busy making new laws to consider changing an A record-breakin- fact-findin- old one. D.R.M. JENSEN Forum Rules Public Forum letters must be submitted exclusively to The Tribune and bear writers full name, signature and address. Names must be printed on political letters but may be withheld for good reason on others. Writers are limited to one letter every 10 days. Preference will be given to short, typewritten (double spaced) letters permitting use of the writers true name. All letters are subject to condensation. Mail to the Public Forum, The Salt Lake Tribune, P.O. Box 867, Salt Lake City, Utah 84110. Dont Deport Family The Lucas Erasmus family of Farming-to- n has come to our community from Zimbabwe and now is struggling with the Immigration and Naturalization Service. The service would like to deport this family. We have heard the problem stems from the fact that the quota for immigration from Zimbabwe is filled. There also seems to be a question of whether the family would be in danger in Zimbabwe should they be sent back there. This family, having chosen the freedom of America over the Marxist government of Zimbabwe, and being the kind of people we Americans adearned the have right to stay. Instead mire, of coming to live off our welfare system, they chose to use Initiative and hard work to make themselves valuable and contributing members of our community. They are fine people who have paid us the compliment of wanting to become one of us. We welcome the criminals and unwanted from Cuba at a high price to the taxpayer, but shun and attempt to "kick out" good hard-workin- g ) A15 17, 19(16 Su-22- There is a real problem of the public being hoodwinked here, not just by President Reagan's notion that Star Wars can make n 'clear weapons impotent and obsolete, but by announcements that specific demonstrations have proven serious progress. Enough members of Congress have become alarmed that they have ordered a General Accounting Office investigation of what has been done so far. The GAO will have access to classified documents, so its report will surely be helpful. But the issue remains about who actually benefits from so much secrecy. Flora Lewis neighbors like the Erasmus family. It doesn't make sense. We have sent a letter to the president and our congressmen. We hope others in the community will do the same and help these deserving people in their attempt to stay in our community. It's only fair we citizens of America have some say about who can share our communities with us. PAUL S. and REBECCA W. LARSEN Not Making the Grade Its that time of the year again. The Utah Board of Education is giving its annual we need more money appeal to the public and the Legislature. They now have the governor appearing on television delivand overused routine ering their time-wor- n that quality education will suffer without more money. They should find another word to replace quality. For the past 20 years our public schools have been sending students to college who are unable to read at a seventh-grad- e level. Many were passed merely to rid the school of students who were an inconvenience. Their education was anything but quality. Now the Board of Education has another one of their errand boys in harness. State He wants to Sen. Karl G. Swan, raise taxes by at least $220 a year for each taxpayer. Perhaps Sen. Swan has found the "leprechauns pot of gold, and doesnt have to worry about money. The rest of us do. With all the power and control the Board of Education has in the Legislature, the taxpayer will probably get ripped off again. However, the voters have the last word. You cant fool all the people all the time. There is a time for accounting. B.J. DRUMMOND Serious Drama I wish Barbara Cummings Dane (Forum, Jan. 7) would not condemn Pioneer Memorial Theatre and its management for its interpretation of serious drama. Most drama capitals (i.e. London, New York) interpret serious drama in much the same way as PMT, Salt Lake Acting Company and Theatre 138. By the way, those of us who really listen to the dialogue in Shakespeares plays know some of it could definitely be termed as ribald, bathroom humor" as Ms. Cummings Dame put it. Next thing we know she will be condemning one of the world's greatest playwrights. I enjoy light, funny, "clean" plays as much as any theatergoer (Heaven knows how many times Ive seen "The Sound of Music") but there are some in the audience who dont always want to view the "Pollyan-na- " " or side of life. We enjoy not only to be entertained, but also intellectually challenged by observing all aspects of humanity. Please do not limit us from expanding our understanding of human behavior by insisting there is only one interpretation cf could imagine that his complaints about too much classification preventing him from answering critics are intended to undermine it. Official secrecy has become a major issue among the scientists involved, especially as the administration has intensified its sales pitch with claims that successful research is moving very, very quickly (the SDI Director, Lt. Gen. James Abrahamson) and that we are far ahead of where we thought we could be just two or three years ago (Defense Secretary Weinberger). has said: As Sen. Charles Mathias, The latest reports that have trickled out of the laser program suggest that efforts to promote SDI have gone beyond exaggerating the significance of the results to actually disguising inconvenient scores. he continued, many Unfortunately, scientists who question the significance of the results are afraid that they will be accused of compromising national secrets if they speak out, while those in charge of pushing the program are free to do so. It is especially important to know what is happening in the y laser portion of the SDI program since it has been slated to receive a special increase in funds, indeed much of the pressure to demonstrate successes is to prove that such increases are justified. However, if those successes have been staged, not only is there no need for extra money, but we are confronted with a case of inflated claim and distorted reporting by the authorities. ' REBECCA CHAVEZ-HOUC- said the Russians have "been working for several years on all the things were currently proposing regarding SDI and I believe they are ahead. Its possible they'll learn . something new if we share our SDI research, but I doubt it. ' Further, he said, We should be for opeo- ness in the name of science, in the name of unity of the world, and in the name of the defense of the United States." He wrote in a recent letter to the editor ' published in The New York Times, taking issue with my column about a cover-uof unreliable y laser test results: Technically unfounded accusations do not violate classification laws, but the needed detailed scientific refutation of the accusation does On Dec. 28, there was another underground nuclear explosion to test the laser, with no glowing claims of achievement so far. There probably wont be, from what is known, but Teller certainly should have the opportunity to prove that his confii ' dence in the project has been justified, ff r indeed the results show that. And the sciem., tific critics should have an equal right to give their reasons for challenging the value of the tests. f ., . Lowell Wood, a senior physicist at Liver-- , more, infuriated some other scientists there . by publishng specious claims about another'. ' ' ,1a-- ;' Star Wars component, the in Wall The summed' Street Journal last ser, Andrew M. Sessler, a physicist who" n works on the laser, fired off a letter to Livermores director that was quoted in The Los Angeles Times. , We have been told that because of security restrictions we cannot talk about our Can I now talk experimental results freely about the experiment? Can we now publish our results? . . . Most importantly, was Woods action conscionable? If scientists on both sides are against the gag rule, and even Teller doesn't think thq., Russians would benefit from disclosure, then why are the secrets being so tightly held? The suspicion has to be that it is to discourage the American taxpayer from asking what his billions of dollars are producing and to extract, as Mathias said, extra mon- : ey , I I 1 i ; : , t I Y A I r -- free-electro- n . 1982 Dm orxi IrKjo SyndKO. Inc Edward Teller i The Washington Post SAN ANTONIO For five years, ever since he became the first Mexican-America- n Henry Cisnemayor of this city, ros (D) has been the shining star of Hispanic politics in America. execuThe handsome, Harvard-trainetive of the nations tenth-largecity was the youngest person interviewed as a potential 1984 running-mat- e by Walter F. Mondale. Today, he has a national forum as the president of the League of Cities and the spokes d man for urban America on the pending Gramm-Rudma- n budget-cuttin- g fight. But now, for the first time, Cisneros faces the possibility of an emerging rival on his home territory: Judge Roy Barrera, Jr., a lawyer who last week announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination for attorney general. Their conflicting ambitions and strategies tell a great deal about the competition between the parties for the increasingly important Hispanic vote. The Census Bureau estimates that Hispanic voter registration across the country increased 47 percent between 1976 and 1984, from 2.49 million to 3.79 million of the estimated 9 million-plu- s Latinos. By voting-ag- e comparison, voter registration among blacks increased 37 percent and among whites, 16 percent. Detailed studies by the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project (SVREP), headquartered here, indicate that in Texas those registration gains were partially offset decline in Latino turnout. But by a William C. Velasquez, the organizations executive director, argued in an interview that 1984s dropoff "was a blip," caused by the lack of enthusiasm across Texas for the Mondale-Ferrarticket. o "The demographic factors are all on our side, he said, pointing particularly to the fact that the relatively low median age of Hispanics means that Latinos in large numbers will be reaching voting age in the next decade. long-ter- Both parties are well aware of these numbers and Republicans at the national level have given high priority to dislodging the Democrats stranglehold on the Hispanic vote. Candidates like Barrera are an important part of that strategy. Latino voters are by no means monolithconcentrated in Floriic. da, are predominantly Republican, reflecting both their relatively high economic status and their intense Cuban-American- But Democrats have enjoyed a great advantage in the competition by their nearmonopoly of Hispanic officeholders. Velasquez said that of 2,861 Spanish-surnam- c officials at all levels his group has been able to identify, "it appears that only about 20 are Republicans." From Republican National Chairman f 5 Texas GOP Finds Latin Star for Office "rose-colored- "artistry." i According to Teller, it isnt hurting the' Soviet Union. In a speech reported in the Livermore laboratory Weekly Bulletin, he p y Pot-La- w Friday January t Frank J. Fahrenkopf, Jr., on down, the party leadership is eager to change that ratio, particularly in highly visible statewide office,' In Florida, Tampa Mayor Bob Martinez was persuaded to switch from the Democratic Party and to seek the GOP nomination foi governor this year. i i ' f Similar epcouragement has been lavBarrera. The son of a prominent conservative Democrat who was John B. barrio a genConnallys man in the west-sid- e eration ago. Barrera was named to a San Antonio disli ict judgeship by William C. Cle-- . ments when Clements was Texas first Republican governor. vote in the Re Few Mexican-American- s ished on i I publican primary in Texas. The willingness of Anglo conservatives to support a Latino for major state office remains to be tested. Ironically, Cisneros has shown that it can happen at the municipal level. Since his first mayoral campaign (where ethnic polarization was evident), he has won twice by overwhelming majorities, including the heavily Republican, conservative north side of the city. Developers, Chamber of Commerce businessmen and other GOP stalwarts sing the praises of his economic-developmeefforts. nt For five years, the assumption here hps been that when Texas elected its first top Mexican-America- n official, his name would be Cisneros. But with Democrats running for in all the major state offices ori the ballot this year (including the first His: panic appointee to the state supreme court), Cisneros' national renown does not translate to Immediate political opportunity at homi He has an active statewide speaking schedule and is keeping his options open. But for now, Cisneros is something of a spectator at Barrera's show, and that is a break for the GOP. I . |
