NATION/WORLD
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Thursday, November 17, 1994
Readiness in jeopardy as military units rated rusty
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Three Army tank divisions whose assignments include reinforcing South Korea and the Persian Gulf are not fully ready for combat, the first time in 12 years the Army has been so rusty, officials said yesterday.
The Army refused to disclose which divisions were involved, saying the information was classified. But officials commenting only on condition of anonymity said the 1st Infantry Division, Mechanized, at Fort Riley; the 4th Infantry Division, Mechanized, at Fort Carson, Colo.; and the 2nd Armored Division, at Fort Hood, Texas, all received the next-to-lowest readiness grade.
In a hastily arranged news conference, the Pentagon announced yesterday that three of the 12 divisions — a quarter of the active-duty combat force — got the second-lowest readiness grade from their own commanders.
No immediate threat to the safety
of the nation looms as a result of the problem, senior Pentagon officials said.
Gen. John Shalkikashvili, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said yesterday that the readiness of fighting units is central to the administration strategy of being strong enough to fight two regional wars nearly simultaneously — in Korea and the Persian Gulf, for example.
The units are graded from a high of "C-1" to a low of "C-4." The three armored divisions, each with 18,000 soldiers and a complement of tanks and armored vehicles, were graded C-3. That means the units may undertake many but not all wartime missions and they suffer significant decreases in flexibility and increases in vulnerability.
It was the first time in 12 years that the Army has had three divisions rated so poorly.
In addition, the downgraded divisions had to delay purchases of spare parts until the new fiscal year began Oct. 1.
Military to reduce reserve forces
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The military will reduce reserve forces by nearly 40,000 over the next 10 months, the Pentagon announced yesterday.
The cuts will affect reserve units in 39 states, the District of Columbia and six foreign countries. National Guard and reserves in the Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force will drop from 1.036 million to 996,100, a 4 percent reduction.
Long-term Pentagon plans call for cutting an additional 44,400 by 1999.
"It is imperative that we eliminate force structure we don't need and apply our finite resources to enhance the mission-readiness of those who remain in the force," said Defense Secretary William
Perry.
Members of units being inactivated or subject to reductions will have opportunities to move to other units when possible.
"Throughout this entire process, we are determined to manage the reductions, restructure properly and take care of our people," Perry said.
The cuts were ordered by Congress in the fiscal 1995 budget passed earlier this year as part of a long-term reduction in the size of both the active-duty and reserve military forces.
Although reserve forces are getting smaller, the parallel reductions in the active-duty force means the reserves will play a longer role in military operations. Perry said.
The largest cuts are coming from Army and Navy reserves.
Human rights, commerce on agenda
The Associated Press
JAKARTA, Indonesia — President Clinton issued a call yesterday to break down chains of repression in Indonesia and pledged that the United States would not ignore abuses for the sake of increased trade.
Clinton discussed human rights at length with President Suharto and urged him to make more progress, officials said. Clinton welcomed Suharto's assurances that he would not punish students who occupied the U.S. Embassy to demand independence for East Timor, the former Portuguese colony seized in 1975.
The Indonesian leader said his government was dealing fairly with East Timor.
Indonesia was Clinton's last stop in three weeks of grueling travel that
began with a journey to the Middle East and then picked up steam with a campaign tour in the United States before he set out for the Far East last week.
Asia is the fastest growing economic region in the world and the market for one-third of all American exports. Clinton said U.S. economic strategy must be revised to make Indonesia, Thailand, China, India and others a larger part of the equation.
Addressing criticism of his administration, Clinton said, "We reject the notion that increasing economic ties in trade and partnerships undermine our human rights agenda."
Indonesia is the subject of both praise and criticism from the United States.
Under Suharto's 27-year autocratic
rule, Indonesia stands accused of military brutality, persecution of dissidents, violations of labor rights and press censorship. Human rights groups say abuses are particularly harsh in East Timor.
On the other hand, Indonesia, with 185 million inhabitants, is an unmistakable economic success story, boasting one of the best growth rates in the developing world — six percent a year or better since the early 1970s.
Over the last quarter century, the percentage of Indonesia's population in dire poverty has plummeted from 60 percent to 14 percent.
Clinton applauded business contracts signed this week in Indonesia worth more than $40 billion, timed to coincide with the president's visit.
Three's not a charm for Secret Service as security problems continue in D.C.
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — These just aren't good days for the Secret Service.
First, a plane crashed on the lawn of the White House. Then a gunman fired with a semiautomatic rifle on the executive mansion until passersby tackled him.
Now a burglar has walked off immined with several items — including a TV and radio — from a Treasury building that Secret Service agents patrol 24 hours a day.
"We have peaks and valleys," Secret Service representive Jaime Cagiasg said. "We can go years and years without anything and then you can have several in a row like this."
Usually, a visitor must provide a date of birth, which is logged into a Secret Service computer system along with specific information about when he arrived and left and whom he was going to see.
The Secret Service isn't releasing the incident report, but Cagigas confirmed the burglary occurred overnight Oct. 18 on the second floor of the Treasury annex building, directly across the street from the main Treasury Department building.
The two buildings are among the most tightly secured in the government. Visitors are stopped at the entrances by Secret Service agents and cannot go further unless they are authorized by someone who works in the building.
Cagigas declined to provide specifics about the OPAC burglary, but government officials familiar with the case, who spoke only on condition of anonymity, said staff members had discovered it upon arriving for work in the morning.
A window in OFAC's second-floor records room, where government files are stored, was found ajar, and numerous personal items from workers' desks, including a television and radio, were taken, the officials said.
The burglary surprised OFAC staff, the officials said, because in order to reach the window from the outside, the perpetrator would have had to scale a trash compactor and the two-story wall. Several obvious footprints were found on a table, suggesting the burglar may not have been so careful, officials said.
OFAC already is a tense office, since a federal grand jury, the Treasury inspector general and congressional committees began investigating its activities.
Simpson update The Associated Press
Developments yesterday in the O.J. Simpson case:
JUDGE'S REGRETS: Superior Court Judge Lance Ito expressed regret for granting a heavily advertised sweeps-week interview with a local TV station. A prospective alternate said that she saw a newspaper ad for the five-part interview.
JUDGE'S WIFE. The defense said that Ito's wife, Police Capt. Peggy York, had agreed to appear at a hearing before another judge to explore whether she once had a role in an internal affairs probe of Detective Mark Fuhrman, who found the bloody glove behind Simpson's estate.
PROSPECT REVELATION: An alternate prospect made a dramatic revelation, telling lawyers that his brother was stabbed to death. It had not been mentioned on his questionnaire. Simpson is charged in the stabbing deaths of his ex-wife and her friend. The prospect was excused.
Union Carbide Exxon among worst polluters
The Associated Press
NEW YORK — Exxon Corp.
and Union Carbide Corp., two
companies notorious for brutal
environmental disasters, were
among eight businesses listed
yesterday as the nation's worst
corporate polluters.
Exxon was cited again for the 1889 Valdez oil spill and Union Carbide for its deplorable record of chemical spills by the Council on Economic Priorities.
Other offenders were: International Paper Co., Westinghouse Electric Corp., Southern Co., Texaco Inc., Westvaco Corp. and Maxxam Inc. All eight companies, which were not ranked, defended their records and criticized the council.
The council studies more than 100 companies in environmentally risky industries for toxic releases, air pollution, and environmental clean-up efforts, among other barometers.
Nine independent judges review the data and name the worst polluters. The group also recommends steps that companies can take to mend their ways.
Exxon was cited for a second year for the nation's worst oil spill — the discharge of 11 million gallons of crude when the tanker Valdez ran ground off Alaska, and for a history of problems at its Baton Rouge, La., refinery.
"Exxon continues to perform poorly in comparison with other large oil companies," the council said.
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Friday, November 18,
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