opinion
June 22,
Middle East crisis
Readers express opinions on Israel-Lebanon situation
Editor:
I am truly disappointed with Marc
Roger’s recent attempt at arguing his
position on the Middle East crisis. After
promising us a lucid explanation of the
issue free of verbal histrionics and pas
sions, an explanation he says, with verifi
able proof that speaks to the logic and
reason in man, he launches into a diatribe
of myths, half-truths and passionate de
scriptions of the now scratched record of
Jewish tragedies throughout history.
In reply to Mr. Roger’s facts/myths, I
can only promise that I will try not to go
too deep into what he candidily refers to
as “Arabic verbal histrionics,” obviously a
new code word for any argument of the
Arab position.
sity. First of all, that is a rather unverifi-
able assumption, considering the fact
that only Sadat knew what was going on
in his own heart and mind when he de
cided to end the war with Israel. Second-
was interpreted as destroying Israel’s
military power but never its people.
Reader’s
Forum
Myth 1 — Israel knew of a planned Arab
attack on October 6, 1973, and was only
prevented from attacking first by Amer
ican pressure. In fact, Israel was not even
prepared for the attack when it came or
knew of its extent until only a few hours
before it began. True, ever since the
Israelis occupied Arab lands in the sum
mer of 1967, they knew the Arabs would
attack to regain their lands, but the
Israelis never knew when the attack
would come. Check Kissinger’s memoirs
for more detail.
ly, numerous statesmaen including all
the leaders of Western Europe and
America whom Sadat met, were con
vinced of the sincerity of his intentions
and the deep belief he had in his mission.
In my view, Sadat’s major mistake was
compromising too fast and putting too
much trust in the Israelis much- bally-
hooed cries for peace.
Fact 1 — The Jews have been the reci
pients of some of the worst forms of
oppression, verbal palaver and punish
ment throughout most of their history in
the West. Yes, on this point you are half
right. Yet, Zionists seem to forget that the
Armenians were subjected to genociadal
policies under the Ottomans and the
Gypsies, of whom 3 million were killed
during World War II subjected to Hit
ler’s genocidal policies. Furthermore, let
us not forget that more Protestants and
even Moslems died as a result of the In
quisition than Jews in Spain and else
where. Nevertheless, it is typical of the
myopic hypocracy of Zionists which con
tinually evokes Jewish tragedies of the
past while perpetuating the Palestinian
Arab tragedy today.
ter of the PLO to prevent an oil price rise
as a result of the Iranian-Iraqi oil cutoff.
Finally , as for taking care of the re
fugees, let us not forget that it was the
Israelis who expelled the Palestinians
from their homes, and it is the Israelis
who to this day refuse to allow the Palesti
nians to return and live free and in peace
in their homeland. Furthermore, let me
remind you that most of the aid which
reaches the PLO from the Arab countries
is eventually spent on the Palestinian re
fugees in the form of hospitals and
schools run by the PLO.
Please don’t disappoint us again Mr.
Rogers — after all, coating your language
with scholarly sounding words doesn’t
detract from the fact that it is the same
old Israeli propaganda that we have been
hearing for years, and which inevitably
ends with acquitting Israel of any respon-
sibiility for the Palestinian refugees.
Lebanese puppets
Editor:
The Lebanese rightist phalan;
who represent only themselves, are
puppets of Israel and will neversm
in diverting Lebanon’s polidesinfan
Israel because Lebanon has always
and always will be a major defender!
supporter of the Palestinian cause.
Salah Ece |
401 Ste
Israel-Nazi compar
Editor:
Myth 2 — Former Egyptian president
Sadat offered his hand in peace purely as
a matter of economic and political neces-
Myth 3 — The Arab’s avowed aim is to
push Israel into the sea. No Arab leader
alive today ever called for expelling Jews
from Palestine and sending them back to
their host countries. In fact, the Palesti
nians through the PLO have reiterated
again and again that they do not seek to
expell Zionist-Jews from Palestine but
would rather live with them in a single
democratic state where all are equal be
fore the law. True, past Arab demago
gues most notably Nasser, once
threatened in rhetorical speeches to push
the Israelis into the sea, but even then, it
Myth 4 — The Arabs are the cause of the
world-wide oil crisis. This is probably the
most vicious and oft repeated form of
slander aimed at the Arabs. First, because
the escalation of oil prices was the inevit
able result of demand outstripping supp
ly in a free-market world economy.
Secondly, if it wasn’t for the thankless
efforts of Saudi Arabia, the world’s big
gest oil exporter, oil prices today would
be two or three times what they are. In
fact, the recent world oil glut was the
direct result of Saudi Arabian over
production. It was a concerted effort by
the Arab world’s chief financial suppor-
Nabil Al-Khowaiter
Oppressors-terrorists
Editor:
Terrorism is when Israeli oppressors
label Palestinian oppressed as terrorists.
McHugh and Klass’ compana]
Israeli military action in Lebanon
Nazi genocide (June 15 letter) isk
absurd and irresponsible. I’ll be!
wouldn’t take it kindly if someone
firing rockets into their backyard
Sunday afternoon in the middleofai
becue.
S.M.M. Mohsin
401 Stasney
CO
Arnold Cusmf |
Assistant profes
Who needs college anyway?
by Art Buchwald
“Hey, Dad, guess what? I’ve been
accepted by Harvard, Yale, Princeton,
Cornell and Stanford.”
“That’s just wonderful, son. But are
you really sure you want to go to college?”
“Gosh, Dad, you always said the one
thing everyone needed in life was a col
lege education.”
“I was making conversation. I know a
lot of people who are big wheels in their
fields who never had a university diplo
ma. You know my friend Sam Steg in
Boston? He not only never went to col
lege, he never even saw an Ivy League
football game. He is one of the most suc
cessful men I know.
“And Eddie Aaronson of Rockville,
Md., made a decision that he could edu
cate himself much better than any school
could do it for him. The man can buy and
sell anybody who went to the Wharton
School of Business.”
“But you went to college.”
“If I knew then what I know now, I
would never have done it. I wasted four
of the best years of my life studying for
exams. I could have been driving a taxi
then, instead of throwing my parents’
money away on books and courses and
dates. But just because I made a mistake
is no reason you have to make the same
one.”
“Gee, Dad, you never told me how un
happy you were at Dartmouth.”
“I didn’t want you to know, because I
was afraid you would think less of me. All
fathers have skeletons in their closets that
they try to keep from their children. Now
that you’re a man I feel I can level with
you. The only reason I went to college
was to stay out of the Army.”
“I thought you would be pleased that I
was accepted by five of the best schools in
the country.”
“I am, son. But just because they
accepted you is no reason you have to go
to any one of them. You’ve got a brilliant
mind, and I hate to see them load it down
with a lot of intellectual nonsense that
could mess you up for the rest of your
life. Besides, every college that has
accepted you is part of the elitist estab
lishment. By the time you graduate,
you’ll think that you are better than any
body else. Worse still, everybody else will
think the same thing. Once you get a
degree from a top-flight school, you’ll be
a marked man for the rest of your days.”
accepted in some fancy school it reflects
favorably on them. It’s not important
what Mom wants for you. It’s what you
want for yourself.”
“I want to go to a good school.”
“You say that now because you’ve nev
er been to One. You’re young and idealis
tic and you believe that all you need to get
ahead is an education. But as you grow
older you’ll discover it isn’t the college
but the man that matters. I can introduce
you to graduates of every university you
have been accepted at, who will tell you
they would have been happier being
male disco dancers.”
“What do you want me to do, Dad?”
“It’s your decision, son. I don’t want to
influence you one way or the other. But if
I were your age, I’d buy a backpack and
hitchhike across the country. You’ll learn
a lot more than you will in some Ivy
League institution.”
“Mom wants me to go to a good col-
lege.”
“All mothers want their sons to go to a
good college. But that doesn’t mean it’s
right. They think because you’ve been
“Dad, can I ask you a question?”
“Yes, son.”
“Are we broke?”
“We’re not broke. But we will be if you
go to one of those five schools.”
“Okay, then I’ll go to the University of
Maryland. It always was my first choice.”
“Thanks, son. You just saved the old
plantation.”
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Status symbols and
the status quo
by Dick West
United Press International
WASHINGTON — Status, like beau
ty, smog, pollen and cinders, is in the eye
of the beholder.
Attributes that might incite hero wor
ship at, say, a truck stop wouldn’t neces
sarily impress the crowd at, say, a polo
game. And vice versa.
I mention this by way of cautioning
readers of Penthouse, whose July issue
features a list of Washington status sym
bols. Penthouse sometimes confuses sta
tus symbols with mere perquisites, or
what are known in labor-management
quarters as fringe benefits. Here is a rep
resentative sampling:
— Having your phone bugged.
— Use of the presidential box at the
Kennedy Center.
— Catching the president’s cold.
— Exotic trees in your office, courtesy
of the National Arboretum.
— Having a baby animal at the Nation
al Zoo named for you.
I can see how these goodies might
serve as prestige-enhancers in some gov
ernment circles. But let no Penthouse
reader be misled into assuming they
would be recognized as status symbols
throughout the capital.
For status-seeking purposes, the fed
eral establishment may be loosely divided
into four segments: Civil Servants, Policy
Makers, Heavy Hitters and Eggheads.
Civil Servants are the bureaucrats who
actually do the work.
Policy Makers, including lobbyists,
consultants, whistleblowers and other
fringe groups, spend all their time trying
to get a pointNacross.
Heavy Hitters are congressionalco I
mittee chairmen and departmental
Eggheads are the token intellect!! |
who think things through.
Their status symbols are not necess!
ly interchangeable. This point is nit' I
illustrated by lunch.
Civil Servants, as a class, eat lund
government cafeterias; Policy Mai
have three-martini lunches in posli
staurants; Heavy Hitters have privatt 1 |J
ning rooms adjacent to their offices;
heads bring their lunch from home
brown paper bags.
The “perks” desired by parts off
federal establishment leave other f I
entirely uncovetous, as we shall seeif'j
apply a couple of Penthouse’s statuss'i
bols to the four segments isolated aW
A Policy Maker who wangled seats
the presidential box at the KennedyCc
ter would gain status only among oll>
Policy Makers, plus a few Civil Serva 11
who stood in line to buy tickets.
Heavy Hitters would not be interest
in watching a performance from 11 '
presidential box unless the presidenta 11
was present.
And Eggheads would prefer to cW I
in culture from a blanket spread on if j
lawn at Wolf Trap Farm.
As for “Having your phone bugg^
only Civil Servants could derive st#
from that.
Policy Makers would be the ones "f
ordered the bugging. Heavy Hiti f! ) j
would have security decoding devicf (
that scrambled their telephone conve^
tions. And Eggheads would use the p 1
phone at the end of the corridor
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