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Page 2 THE BATTALION WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 4, 1976 U. S. entrapped in S. Korea? By EDWARD P. MORGAN The United States government has entrapped itself in South Korea. Figuratively speaking, it is as much a prisoner of circumstance as some hapless Korean clapped into jail and tortured as a “subversive’ by Presi dent Park Chung Hee s own KC1A — Korean Central Intelligence Agency, which is patterned, some what, after our own. There is even the torture of an guish and anxiety in the? picture, for if war flared again between North and South Korea, the U. S. would become instantly involved. There are some 40,000 American troops “guarding” the boundary of the 38 th parallel. There has be;en a substan tial U. S. military presence in South Korea for more than a quarter of a century. When I was in Seoul three sum mers ago, the U. S. command, when pressed, said it might be able to spare a little manpower here and there, including antiaircraft battery crews — after South Koreans had been trained to take over. But there was no indication of any real pullout imminent. Indeed, now that we are out of Vietnam, the Pentagon repor tedly considers our Korean com mitment more important than ever, to display a “presence” in Asia. But where is all this leadin g? When will the U. S. commitment end? These are elements of the en trapment. It would be folly to phase out our Korean command now. Or would it? President Park has become an increasingly cruel and ruthless dictator since he junked the con stitution and improvised his own in 1972. A recognized Asian specialist. Professor Frank P. Baldwin, Jr., who has been teaching in Japan, suggested in Washington recently that there may be relatively more overt repression in South Korea than in North Korea, strongly presided over by another dictator. Com munist Premier Kim II Sung. And this, Baldwin said, brought up in Seoul, Tokyo and elsewhere the quivering question of the South Ko rean army’s will to fight. The “ROK” forces, as they were called, fought well in Vietnam and are supposed to be, along with the KCIA, Park’s main support. But reforms that affect the poor, including land reform, have been minimal under Park. Ironically, Marxist regime though it is, Kim has given the north. Professor Baldwin said, relatively better social justice than the South. There has of course been land reform, and basic human needs are being met. With Park becoming increasingly ruthless — the Washington Post re cently had a long report on how the KCIA was spreading fear and tight ening its grasp on national life — why indeed should the peasant-class South Korean soldier be raring to fight to protect what is becoming tyranny? And what is the United States doing supporting that tyranny? What but the military mind could justify intervening on behalf of one tyranny to fight another? A recent military mission from Seoul to Wash ington indicated South Korea should be strong enough to stand on its own feet by 1980. Providing of course a revolt against cruelty doesn’t try to stand Park on his head in the inter im. Morgan is the chief correspondent for In The Public Interest, a press service of the Fund for Peace. Softies. We' ve never seen fashion Huaraches that are so soft and flexible as these two. Maybe this is why huaraches are so popular south of the border! 5 to 10 12.99 Cbe Battalion Opinions expressed in The Battalion are those of the editor or of the ivriter of the article and are not necessarily those of the university administration or the Board of Regents. The Battal ion is a non-profit, self supporting enterprise operated by stu dents as a university and community newspaper. Editorial policy is determined by the editor. LETTERS POLICY Letters to the editor should not exceed 300 words and are subject to brine cut to that length or le-if longer The editorial staff resen i , tt;.- right m 1 >«<./» ietr- >n ./ . < nt/iguaran tee to publish any letter. Each letter must be signed, show the address of the writer and list a telephone number for verifica tion. Address correspondence to Listen Up, The Battalion, Room 217, Services Building, Collcc TV- 77Sf3. Represented nationally by National Educational Advertising Servic es, Inc., New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles. Mail subscriptions are $16.75 per semester; $33.25 per school year; $35.00 per full year. All subscriptions subject to 5% sales tax. Advertis ing rates furnished on request. Address: The Battalion, Room 217, Services Building, College Station, Texas 77843. Rights of reproduction of all matter herein are reserved. Second-Class postage paid at College Station, Texas. Editor Jerry Needham ‘ Managing Editor Richard Chamberlain Sports Editor Paul McGrath 1 Campus Editor LisaJunod : Photographers Steve Goble, Kevin Venner Production LeAnn Roby, Susan Brown Reagan s boo-boo buoys Ford chancurr u WASHINGTON — This political year, which has had almost every thing, now has its classical political blunder. Ronald Reagan’s choice of Sen. Richard Schweiker of Pennsyl vania as his running mate seems certain to be recorded in the annals of presidential campaign boo-boos, along with George McGovern’s $1,000-plan and “1000 per cent” endorsement of Tom Eagleton, Ed Muskie’s speech in the snow, Barry Goldwater’s Social Security and TVA comments and other great gaf fes of history. It’s always fascinating to go back and replay such moves, trying to figure where the fatal miscalculation arose and why it was not perceived. In the case of Reagan s gamble, there were at least three misjudg- ments which compounded the cost liness of the Schweiker caper. The first misreading was the standing of Schweiker in the Pennsylvania Republican party. The obvious test of the wisdom of Reagan’s move was the ability of Schweiker to dislodge uncommitted and Ford delegates in Pennsylvania. Schweiker has failed with the Ford delegates because he is only a junior partner in the liberal Repub lican leadership of his state. Sen. Hugh Scott, former Gov. (and now UN Ambassador) William Scranton, and fund-raiser and former guber natorial candidate Drew Lewis are the heavyweights of that wing. Schweiker concealed his deal from them, and they, in turn, clobbered him among the Ford loyalists. When this reporter called the un committed delegates in Pennsyl vania immediately after Reagan’s announcement, it became clear that there was an equally serious mis reading of Schweiker s standing with them. Those uncommitteds — and there were more than 20 of them — were conservative Repub licans who had resisted the pressure from the pro-Ford liberal leadership of their state. But their views on Schweiker bordered on the un printable. Schweiker’s success in two Pennsylvania Senate races has de pended on his ability to draw inde pendent and Democratic votes. But among conservative Republicans, his pro-labor record, his high rating from the liberal Americans for Democratic Action, and his well- publicized opposition to the last two Presidents of his own party has marked Schweiker as a political pariah. They excoriated him — and damned Reagan for allying himself with Schweiker. That was miscalculation number one. The second was the failure to recognize that among the ideologi cal conservatives around the coun try who form the hard core of Reagan’s support, nothing is more important than the question of pres idential succession. Clarke Reed of Mississippi and his counterparts in other states have been fighting to make the Republi can party a vehicle for conservatism for most of the last 20 years. They always look beyond the confines of a single campaign to the long-term picture. In 1968, their main demand on Richard Nixon was that he not choose a liberal like John Lindsay as his running mate. Having beaten the Eastern establishment in 1964, they did not want it sneaking back into power through the vice- presidential back door. Spiro Agnew suited them fine, but when Nixon and Agnew were both re moved, they were mortally of fended that Jerry Ford put Nelson Rockefeller in the line of succession. The vice-presidential choice is especially important to them this year, because of the calendar. Ford, if elected, could not constitutionally serve beyond 1980. Reagan, if elected, might well step down that year, because he would then be 69. For months, the conservatives pressured Mr. Ford to drop Roc- kefeller and put no other liberal Re publican into the line of succession, all the time assuming that Reagan was safe, because he had vowed to guarantee ideological compatibility in his running mate. When he chose the most liberal Republican in the Senate, Schweiker, the denuncia tion, was automatic. As Reed said, the vice presidency was “too great a price — even for Reagan’s nomina tion. The final and most important miscalculation was the failure to see that the fervor of those conservative purists was Reagan’s best — and only real — hope for nomination. As one senior Ford aide said, with a sigh of relief, “The people who would have gone up Cemetery Ridge with Re agan are the ones whose hearts he broke — even if he didn’t lose their votes.” After the Schweiker boo-boo had defanged Reagan, Ford strategists admitted what many of us outsiders had believed all along — that they were worried that the fervor of Reagan’s troops would overcome Mr. Ford’s narrow mathematical edge in delegates, in the superheated atmosphere of the Kansas City convention hall. NEED EXTRA CASH? Become a Plasma Donor at Plasma Product Inc. 313 College Main, College Station Cash given with each Donation. TEXAS A&M OFFICIAL CENTENNIAL MEDALLION A unique collectors item entirely hand cast in solid bronze by the master foundrymen of OmaMetal Castings. 20 separate hand operations go into the creation of each bronze medallion. This remarkable hand crafting gives each medallion a distinctive character of its own with no two exactly alike. Each is a unique work of art. LIMITED - NUMBERED EDITION On December 31st the pattern will be destroyed and the official Texas A&M Centennial Medallion will never be offered again. To further insure the exclusiveness of this edition each medallion has a serial number hand stamped in the background. This is a once in a lifetime gift, that will last a life time. A piece of history for as little as $9.95. Texas A&M Centennial Medallions are available in a wide variety of mountings at Advanced Business Equipment, Aggieland Flower and Gift Shop, News Office Supply, TAMU Bookstore, in the Memorial Student Center, University Bookstore, at Northgate, OrnaMetal Casting, West By-Pass at Carson. Big Results! CLASSIFIED ADS! A platform or rules fight — or anything else — could easily have triggered a tactical setback to the Ford forces from which they might not have recovered. That moral fer vor was thrown away when Reagan picked the liberal Schweiker, and it can hardly be recaptured now. The story of how Reagan and his strategists, John Sears and Paul Laxalt, came to make this ment is another matter. For now, let it just be notnjl once again, Jerry Ford has himself one of the luckiest J cians in America. Bad thii$K. , pen to those who stand in his Jg f I were | i in in \ (.'arter (kf? un ' Plains, I’d watch out for alii (c) 1976, The Washingtonf® 1S LAKEVIEW CLUB 3 Miles N. on Tabor Road Saturday Night: Johnny Bush and the Bandele From 9-1 p.m. I arites <51 no STAMPEDE Every Thursday Nite Ladies S . (ALL BRANDS BEER 4(J cents) ire is^still but vei a play little c roles a dividii; |eem sonali Bruce by Jar trastecl from, l the re; The ■ we Wilson the fir; seeond the nai tain ii Every Tuesday Nite LADIES $1.00 All Brands Beer 40c 8-12 Dance every Tuesday and Thursday sings \ the-wc little-l -is alien In tl door, 1 poetic the pe first le basing .didn’t Qbcl INTERSTATE BY OVERWHELMING DEMAND HELD OVER dpatttv/ FINAL 7 DAYS! 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