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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (July 15, 1982)
opinion Battalion/Page! July 15 siouch By Jim Earle I East-West pipeline and Poland!* “I wonder what the attitude toward walking on the grass would be if oil was discovered under the MSC?” One small dividend for man or military? by Art Buchwald When Neil Armstrong landed on the lunar surface many moons ago, and said: “One small step for a man; one giant leap for mankind,” I’ll have to admit I was worried. I couldn’t believe that the Un ited States would invest all that brainpow er and money just to find out what made the universe tick. I recall turning to my wife, or some body like her, and saying, “There’s got to be a military dividend in all this.” My wife, or whoever it was, is a roman tic by nature. “Why does there always have to be a military dividend in every thing?” she demanded. “Why can’t we use scientific achievements for peace in stead of war?” “We could if THEY would,” I told her. “There is only one reason the Soviets want to get into space and that’s so they can conquer us on earth.” “So, why did Neil Armstrong just say what he did?” “Because the military never tells any one the real reason they send someone up in a rocket. If they had Armstrong say: ‘One small killer satellite for a man; one giant killer satellite for mankind,’ it would have just tipped off the Russians we knew they were going to use the sky for military purposes. This way they think we just landed on the moon be cause no human on earth had ever done it before.” “Maybe we do plan to use space ex ploration for peace,” my wife said. “Women live in a dream world. Even if that was its original purpose, no military establishment worth its salt would ignore the opportunities of space for waging all- out war. Just think, in our lifetime there will be weapons poised up in the heavens aimed at any target on the globe. Man, by just pressing a button, will be able to send them hurtling down on us at the speed of light.” “Is that your dream world?” she asked. “Of course not. But we have to face reality. The nation that dominates space will dominate the world. Do you think we’re going to continue to spend billions of dollars on a program which doesn’t have any strategic defensive value? We’re not idiots. Mark my words. In a few years from now we’re going to send up a space shuttle with a tiny military package in it. Then the Soviets are going to send one up with a larger military package. Then we’re going to send one up even bigger than a bread box. And before you know it, the only thing that will be allowed on space vehicles will be military equip ment.” “Hip-hip-hooray,” my wife said. “Of course we won’t use ours unless they use theirs. We don’t want to start a war. We just want to deter one. What better deterrent than a satellite bristling with atomic weapons flying over the Soviet Union every 24 hours. It might finally bring about the dream for peace that all mankind has been waiting for. Once we have parity in the heavens, we can all sleep better on earth.” “So that’s what you think this space program is all about?” “They many not have had it in mind when they started it. But now that we know what we can do in space, we’ve got to make it pay off militarily, or it won’t make any scientific sense.” And so the other day when I watched the space shuttle land, and knew the tiny military package on board was safe, I, like all Americans, breathed a sigh of relief. I said to my wife, or whoever was with me: “Fasten your seat belt, baby. It’s a whole new ball game.” The United States administration of Ronald Reagan has extended its ban on the use of American technology in the construction of the Euro-Soviet pipeline. Officially, the President’s objective is to pressure Moscow vis-a-vis Poland. That the gesture is symbolically noble is indis putable. However, that the practical effects are constructive is at best doubtful. For a variety of reasons, since World War II, of all the eastern European satel lite states, Poland has been the most in dispensable to the Kremlin’s security needs. Historically a popular route for invading armies, Poland for centuries has posed a military dilemma to the Rus sian state. World War II was the last war in which Polish territory served the role of a springboard for western armies mov ing against the eastern giant; the Kremlin is determined not to allow a repeat per formance. behrooz moghaddam secondly, following in the Warsaw Pact. And perhaps more importantly, Russian annexation of Polish territory in World War II, the Red Army’s persecu tion of Polish nationalists during the war, and finally Stalin’s installation of a totali tarian communist regime, the Poles have unequivocally developed the most anti- Soviet taste in eastern Europe. . ... ' ■ United Pres Solidarity or similar domesticoutlftHOUSTON In the long haul, the U.S.wiHipen in a cai for not only Poland but all o! ®utine traffic Europe if cautious diplomacyisalP^ a police to replace the frightening(tothcjfiF ^ w °u n de public outbursts. The presentpw{!P enec . r . .... r , r [Wmce said We the pipeline is an example ol theM An hour j at( In the meantime, relations I p{ | ice were see the United States and her majon p 10 fl e d the sc at a new low. The latter are offenfone of the tv American lectures on the risbBot and kille pendence on Russian natural gaslwho were inve cularly when that gas willsatisfyn® 00tm £- than f ive percent of their overall* Several percent v..v.»»v— needs. And they are angry as ot 1 A less dependent Poland would also threaten Soviet interests insofar as the potential for a domino effect of libera tion movements enveloping eastern Europe would substantially increase. The American equivalent can be found in Reagan’s preoccupation with the Com munist menace in Central America. Now, add to this two more sensitive ingredients and the Polish/Soviet picture is nearly complete. First, next to the USSR, Poland is the largest military force The effect of all the evidence is un swerving Soviet intransigence wherever Poland is concerned. No American de mands or policies, short of war, will be heard in the Red Square. Rather, I think the reverse is more likely. As more and more public attention is directed at Polish independence movements in the west, the greater the Soviet paranoia will be. Paradoxically, the outcome may well be less freedom for the Poles and height ened Kremlin scrutiny and control over the Polish government — both part of an attempt to preclude the resurgence of mstration's policy threatens My been p ire( needed jobs at a time of highunttff Officer L.J ment in all of western Europe, pounded in tf , , , , Mm and side c I he end result has been topiiit(B oot i n g inci< against the Soviet/Western Euiftent surgery economic alliance. And, as natioiulfts listed in a intensifies in the allied capitals,! Hermann Ho: solve to complete the pipelineoB The man and fight a war of economies and[|P an 8 e gu if necessary is stronger thaneverM 8 not beon . 7 r ii .■ ] Bmpamon w; In summary, tor all practicalpiiBTf the administration’s policy has ni» y be s i a j n ^ been ineffectual but counterprod: identified as ] Poland is as repressed as everj so, while the limits. patrollin alliance is strainedi podwithhis I do not mean to suggest tin ought to forsake the Polish cai simply that this particular policydi in fact facilitate its end. j -*n Li m ten major cnr E; solved by the < [bout half the he rest of th The natio r cases close [ent, accord i i ouston’s 10 | a five-year "Detective talking to the don’t have tii ou don’t ha' ective K.D. 1 Many Hou Jear their c rop furthei istrictjudg Letter: Middle East history importal United Pr BAY cn Texas Nucle was suppos finished a ) successfully Itinued cons creasing cos lems in ch; the project i “I’m ven ject can be said project Barker of f Power Co. “I am cot lems will be ture,” Barki JL Barker, \ T over-budgei [ sortium of i nio, Austin, Houston, n Tuesday aft gineers ha< design pro from one cc Editor: The Battalion Letters Policy USPS 045 360 Member of Texas Press Association Southwest-journalism Conference Editor Diana Sultenfuss City Editor Bernie Fette Sports Editor Frank L. Christlieb News Editors Tracey Buchanan, Daniel Puckett Diane Yount Staff Writers Cyndy Davis, Susan Dittman, Terry Duran, Colette Hutchings, Hope E. Paasch, Joe Tindel Jr., Rebeca Zimmermann Copy Editors Gary Barker, Carol Templin Cartoonist Scott McCullar Photographers .... David Fisher, Octavio Garcia John Ryan, Letters to the Editor should not exceed 300 words in length, and are subject to being cut if they are longer. The editorial staff reserves the right to edit letters for style and length, but wilt make every effort to maintain the author’s intent. Each letter must also be signed, show the address and phone number of the writer. Columns and guest editorials are also welcome, and are not subject to the same length constraints as letters. Address all inquiries and correspondence to: Editor, The Battalion, 216 Reed McDonald, Texas A&M Uni versity, College Station, TX 77843, or phone (713) 845- 2611. Editorial Policy The Battalion is published three times a week — Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday — during Texas A&M’s summer semesters, except for holiday and ex amination periods, when it is published only on Wednes days. Mail subscriptions are $16.75 pier semester, $33.25 per school year and $35 per full year. Advertising rates furnished on request. Our address: The Battalion, 216 Reed McDonald Building, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843. The Battalion is a non-profit, self-supporting news paper operated as a community service to Texas A&M University and Bryan-College Station. Opinions ex pressed in The Battalion are those of the editor or the author, and do not necessarily represent the opinions of Texas A&M University administrators or faculty mem bers, or of the Board of Regents. The Battalion also serves as a laboratory newspaper for students in reporting, editing and photography clas ses within the Department of Communications. Questions or comments concerning any editorial mat ter should be directed to the editor. United Press International is entitled exclusively to the use for reproduction of all news dispatches credited to it. Rights of reproduction of all other matter herein reserved. Second class postage paid at College Station, TX 77843. Terry Duran’s explanation of the word terrorism in the context of the mid dle East conflict leaves one with the dis tinct impression that the columnist knows little or nothing about the history of the conflict. Did it ever occur to you Mr. Duran, to do some research on how Israel was created and why the Palesti nians are fighting it? Have you ever heard of the Stern and Irgan gangs or the Gier Yassin village massacre and the King David Hotel bombing? a suggestion that they make do without their homeland. Today, the Palestinians are a dispersed but well-educated and motivated people, 60 of them attend this University, and many more attend uni versities in almost every country in the world. Ask any one of them and they will tell you that the PLO is the vanguard of the Palestinian people’s struggle. The tactics of the PLO are merely the tactics they learned from the Zionists, who first used these same tactics to take Palestine in the first place. And the Israeli army, (not a task force, as you suggest, but an army of close to 60,000 troops), presently surrounding Beirut is l« controlled by the same man who made terrorism fashionable in the die East. Finally, bear in mind that desire Arab cities and slaughtering Arahi lians en-masse will only intensif) Palestinian struggle and increase “I’d say v | dozen prob price of retribution from the Israelii 11 project arc all who support them. Last mo Nabil Al-KhowJ virtually nc Class of have to dea “We’re 1< resumption have a fair! the end of Bechtel 1 co Service: placed Brc tor respecti Until 1948, Palestine had an over whelming Arab Muslim-Christian major ity composed mainly of poor uneducated farmers who had heard nothing about the Zionist dream of a homeland for the Jews until it came knocking down their doors and blowing up their homes. Scared and confused, they ran with no thing but the clothes on their backs and whatever they could carry in their hands. The Palestine Liberation Organization, whom you simplistically write off as a bunch of terrorists, are none other than the sons and daughters of the afore mentioned farmers, now much better educated than their fathers ever were and more able to demand their rights as a free people. After waiting 20 years begging for jus tice first from the United Nations and then from the country that portrays itself as the guardian of the “free world,” they got nothing but a few tents, blankets and the small society by Brickmc sumed non Barker hop lated work anything ci ty, in SepU Some 23 work on th 1800 of th< &V&ZY T\^B> r <££T THAT /J^P££PAlPz Q T1981 King Features Syndicate Inc World rights reserved United MARFA about at du Texas towr a lot of q seems to bt any answe Some might be have trav through a as atmosp the lights v chers 100 (