by Jim Earle
A&rlES 13
“It feels so good!”
Opinion
Kissinger gripes,
but logic wrong
Even opponents of Iranian actions have serious
doubts about Henry Kissinger’s assertions about how
we all got where we are right now.
The former Secretary of State said vacillating Amer
ican policy under President Carter had somehow lost
Iran, the implication being that the United States was
in a position to control events in that troubled country.
Kissinger implies Carter could have put a stopper in
the bottle of traditionalist ferment throughout the Isla
mic world; that he could have overcome the authentic
Iranian revulsion at the wrongs of the shah’s regime;
that he could have provided a' military solution to an
essentially politico-religious movement that was con
spicuously nationalist in character.
Kissinger would be more believable if he and his
colleagues in government had done anything while
they held power to convince the shah that he had to
change his own policies. The shah’s chief failing was his
intolerance of sharing power among all levels of society
— and Kissinger seems never to have made any
attempt to change that policy.
It is sad to hear the former Secretary of State suggest
a different kind of leadership for the past two years, and
maybe some show of military strength, would have
made a material difference in the course of events in the
turbulent world of Islam, events that have been build
ing up for decades.
Boston Globe
the small society
by Brickman
WITH TH^
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The Battalion
U S P S 045 360
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Editor Liz Newlin
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Opinions expressed in The Battalion are
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Editorial policy is determined by the editor.
Viewpoint
The Battalion
Texas A&M University
Tuesday
December 4, 1979
cam
Analysis
British volunteer army untested,
but seems to be muddling through
c
By RUDOLF KLEIN
LONDON — Two decades ago, long be
fore President Nixon ended the draft n the
United States, the British government abo
lished military conscription and created a
volunteer army. But here, as in America,
attracting recruits and persuading them to
stay in the service is currently a problem.
With draftees no longer available, Bri
tain’s armed forces have had to resort to
various devices to fill the ranks. Military
wage scales, for example, are now pegged
to comparable civilian salaries. Traditional
“spit and polish” has been eased. Even
short hair-cuts are no longer required.
Nevertheless, it is not easy for Britain to
keep up its militstrength, which relies on
300,000 men and 15,000 women in the
army, navy and air force. Even with high
unemployment, the armed forces have lost
more personnel over the past year than
they have been able to enlist.
As a result, Britain is under pressure to
meet all its military commitments, the
most serious of which are in northern
Ireland, where some 13,000 troops are
rotated in and out in an effort to preserve
law and order.
One reason for the difficulty in
maintaining the size of the armed forces is
that many yong recruits, initially enticed to
join up by the prospect of seeing the world,
become reluctant to face dislocations as
they grow older, marry and have families
that either refuse to move or separate.
In some ways, too, the armed forces have
been a victim of their own success. For
they train barely educated youths, who,
once they develop skills, tend to leave the
service in order to compete for jobs in the
civilian market. The defense establish
ment, therefore, is one of Britain’s major
generators of social and economic mobility.
And among other things, old attitudes
die hard despite the claim of recruiting
literature that discipline in the new
volunteer army has been relaxed.
Occasional examples of non-commissioned
officers bullying rookies suggest that
authoritarian attitudes in the army forces
still prevail. It is noteworthy in this respect
that many discharged sergeants end up
working in prisons.
But in contrast to the United States,
where talk of reviving the draft recurs,
there is virtually no discussion here of a
return to conscription as a way of stiffening
the armed forces.
For one thing, the costs of going back to
compulsory service are prohibitive, since
training conscripts has become so
expensive. The investment in training a
pilot, for instance, runs to nearly $1.5
million. Even preparing an ordinary
infantryman for combat involves an
expenditure of some $18,000.
There is an appealing argument, used in
the United States as well, that the draft
contributed to the democratization of
society by blending men and women of
different backgrounds in a kind of military
melting pot. A corollary to this argument is
that national service also gives young
people a great sense of social cohension and
responsibility.
It would be healthy to alter the mix of the
volunteer army, which draws its manpower
from the poorer and less educated strata of
the population. But there is no evidence
that conscription helped to blur Britain’s
class distinctions — except perhaps in the
propaganda film produced during World
War II.
As in the United States,
recommendations are advanced here from
time to time for some kind of national
service that would compel everyone to de
vote at least a period to the social good,
either at home or abroad. One model is the
French system of “Cooperation,” under
which draftees can teach or perform other
duties overseas on an alternative to military
training.
But such proposals have made little
impact here, even though they might
alleviate Britain’s high rate of
unemployment, which is hitting young
people especially questioned, even though
it is plainly inequitable.
Periodic television films of the funerals
of British soldiers murdered in Northern
Ireland, which usually take place in bleak
working-class towns and vill
testimony to the fact that the l
death is unequally shared.
British casualties in the Irish
however, have been relatively n
a consequence, a passionate i
social justice in deluding the|
interests still seems remote.
LAURA ]
Battal
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don't wan
Conceivably less remote, thoi
possibility that Prime Minister i
Thatcher’s Conservative goven
be confronted in the months i
widspread strikes and other
disputes.
i really wo
erica migi
i,” — Asa
It is not far-fetched to imagine
being deployed in such a situation 1
buses and trains, move fuel
stations and keep the economy
eventuality would certainly raise
about the role of military profess!
tensions might be great, howe
the army composed of conscripls
ardized be
Ian situatioi
Jew Sunday
; it out and
So Britain's volunteer army hasii l jd l ht
challenged by a real tesU y ^ qu;
vi rn hp that tnrhi ■ U
consensus appears to be that, for
worse, the country can muddlei B
without a draft.
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Klein, a professor of social[
at the University of Bath, writes'
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Letters
Readers say Curtis Dickey column
doesn’t tell both sides of the story
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Spirit”
Editor:
While it is true that Curtis Dickey never
realized his potential as a Texas A&M
football player, Mark Patterson’s column
(Wednesday, Nov. 28) is not only highly
inaccurate, it also fails to tell both sides of
the story.
Mr. Patterson says, “Dickey seems to
have one good game a season,” but a quick
look at the Aggie football press guide shows
that Dickey has had 17 100-yard-plus
games in his Aggie career. The four games
Mr. Patterson considers “good” doesn’t
even include Dickey’s second-best career
effort, 230 yards against TCU in 1978.
Mr. Patterson says that Dickey’s
“three-figure days have come against the
Boston Colleges and Virginia Techs,”
instead of against teams like Texas,
Arkansas and Houston. True, Dickey has
had trouble in running against Texas
defenses, but he has twice gained more
than 100 yards against Arkansas. Does Mr.
Patterson put Arkansas, Penn State
(against whom Dickey had 184 yards) and
Iowa State (1978 Hall-of-Fame Bowl
against whom Dickey picked up 276 yards)
in the same class as Boston College and
Virginia Tech? Mr. Patterson fails to take
into consideration that in Dickey’s four
games against Houston, Dickey has been
given the ball 7, 13, 10, and 13 times
although he has averaged well over four
yards per carry against the Cougars.
Mr. Patterson says that he doubts if
Dickey was missed while he was on the
sidelines with injuries. We not only
consider this observation unfair, we
question its validity. A healthy Dickey
could very well have made the difference
against Texas Tech (against whom Dickey
gained 127 yards in 1976 and 161 yards in
1978). The Aggies failed to have a runner
with over 100 yards rushing against the Red
Raiders this year and (hypothetically)
another 100-yard rushing day for Dickey,
who because of injuries rushed but five
times, could have saved A&M from its
21-20 loss.
Against Arkansas this year, the Aggies’
leading rusher was Johnny Hector with 71
yards. Is Mr. Patterson serious when he
claims that the Aggies (who lost 22-10)
didn’t need their all-time leading rusher
who, twice in his career, had compiled 100
or more yards against Razorback defenses?
We are just as disappointed as Mr.
Patterson and all Aggies that Curtis Dickey
never became the “Heisman-Trophy type”
runner we expected. Aggies can formulate
their own theories as to why Dickey’s
potential never materialized. However,
they should keep in mind that Dickey was,
in a way, victimized by circumstannes
beyond his control: circumstances which
he himself was always the last to complain
about.
From the start of his collegiate career,
halfback Dickey’s talents took a backseat in
the fullback-oriented wishbone offense.
Although his speed and talent deserved
better, Dickey averaged only 13 carriers
per game while the Aggies ran the
wishbone. At the same time, the fullback
was handed the ball more than 20 times per
game (on the average).
Then, midway through his junior year,
Dickey was forced to switch offensive
formations, from wishbone to his old
high-school I-formation. At last, the Aggie
offense was designed around Dickey’s 9.2
speed, but, because he was plagued by
numerous injuries, Dickey was never able
to use the power-I to his full advantage.
You question Dickey’s playing ability
Mr. Patterson, yet you turn around and
admit that “professional scouts ... think
Dickey has what a running back needs to
play in the NFL.” For Dickey’s sake, and
for Texas A&M’s sake, let’s hope the pros
know what they are talking about more
than you do.
— Jeff Jenkins, ’82
— Marty Bell, ’82
Editor’s note: This letter, written before
the Texas game, was accompanied by 20
signatures.
12th man is proud
Editor:
This is in response to Hank Wharmund’s
tasteless article in today’s (Nov. 29) Batt.
I’m sorry you’re ashamed of the 12th
Man, Mr. Wharmund, but there are a lot of
us who are still proud of it, and I don’t think
any of us appreciated your letter.
First of all, I’d like to congratulate you on
your remarkable attendance record.
Maybe that’s why a lot of my classmates and
I can’t even get a seat to see our own school
play Satu
day.
Five thousand people is admittedly a
small number to attend an Aggie game
(TCU), but you seem to have forgotten that
it was scheduled on Thanksgiving
weekend, a time even “good Ags would
like to spend at home. Fort Worth is a long
drive for most of us — we don’t all work for
an airline.
So A&M’s fans are getting quieter? Well,
maybe we can’t generate as much hot air as
y’all could back in ’74, but I don’t think
we re off of Bear Bryant’s list yet.
You go on to complain about our
“damning” the team each week, win or
loose. That’s funny, but I thought you just
damned us for “chortling with glee” after
the Penn State win. We justcan’l
please you!
You asked when the last timeaiil
“psyched out” for a game was. It
week — although I never actually
at the mouth. Never having heard
of even the least “warriors of Sparta
it hard to dispute your commental
we accept defeat. However, Ido
many more than 10 of us stick
Yell, although I haven’t seen many
do so. I wonder how many of those
you see “streaming out of the sti
alumni, as opposed to students?
You finally go on to say that the 1M|
should prove itself again. Hereyoa
the purpose of your article — mi
journalistic stunt to build up anj
spirit. But who are you trying to
what you say is true, it would tab
than a bunch of cheap shots to resin
“Renowned Spirit.”
Finally, do you really think t.u
more than we hate them? I’d rati
give that much credit to teasips,
argue with an authority on the subji
— Brian Boyf
of cn
offers a y
qualified
money a
Craft Shop
845-1631
Graduation preset
Editor:
To everyone on the football teamai
staff ... THANKS FOR THE
DAMN GRADUATION PRE!
EVER 13-7 !!!!!
— David Jeffersd
Thotz
By Doug Graki
TTT -
De