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Friday, November 14, 1986 / University Daily Kansan
Opinions
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Thanks to a surprising, but encouraging, move by the U.S. State Department, the vice president of Nicaragua will visit campus next week to speak about current issues in relations between our two countries.
A seldom heard side
With his visit to KU, Sergio Ramirez will bring a look at the situation in Nicaragua that is seldom found in this country. That the State Department granted him a visa to travel throughout the United States expounding his views is a definite change in direction.
In 1984, Ramirez canceled his appointment to speak at KU because of restrictions placed on his visa that allowed him to travel only in Kansas.
But on this trip, Ramirez also will speak at Notre Dame, Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In addition, he will travel to Atlanta and Madison, Wis., and his tour will wind up in New York.
At KU, Ramirez will deliver
a free public lecture, scheduled for 8 p.m. Wednesday in Woodruff Auditorium of the Kansas Union.
Embassy spokesmen say Ramirez will stress increasing communication between the United States and Nicaragua as he speaks to various groups.
The vice president's visit here is sponsored by the KU Center for Latin American Studies, and he is expected to talk about U.S. aid to the contrasts, the Eugene Hasenfus case, the dangers of war and the possibility for peace.
This timely opportunity to hear about stressed U.S.-Nicaraguan relations from the other side is a fortuitous chance for KU students, faculty and administrators to learn more about the issues facing our countries.
Awash in contradiction
And as the director of Latin American studies, Charles Stansifer, said, Ramirez's visit comes with the "expectation that dialogue would improve the situation."
The mysteries surrounding the return of U.S. hostage David Jacobson churned in Washington for more than two weeks. Rumors of arms deals with Iran were dismissed by the president as outlandish. "As long as Iran advocates the use of terror, the United States arms embargo will continue," Larry Speakes, White House spokesman, said last week.
But last night, President Ronald Reagan, speaking in a quiet tone, admitted that we have been negotiating with the Iranians for 18 months. We have sent them military spare parts, Robert McFarlane spent 4 days in Tehran in the spring and the United States will continue negotiations to improve relations with Iran.
His voice contained none of the rancor or vehemence it did when he said, "America will never make concessions to terrorists. Once we head down that path, there will be no end to it — no end to the suffering of innocent people, no end to the bloody ransom all civilized nations must pay."
Besides the fact that Reagan used Jimmy Carter's similar dealings with the Iranians as a springboard to the White House, he has contradicted his own stand against terrorism.
Such an accommodation on Reagan's part brings wonderment. His excuses have left too many questions unanswered.
Why did he lie to the press and the world? Were the Israelis, the creators of the "no negotiation" school of diplomacy, also involved? What are U.S. goals with respect to Iran? Why were three Americans kidnapped by pro-Iranian groups, while we were negotiating with Iran? The list is long and is growing
The president has only clouded the issue with talk of a settlement in the stalemated war between Iran and Iraq and improving relations with such a "strategic" nation.
He's made a mistake and is not sure how to pull himself out. In his clamor to make himself understood, the president has thrown himself deeper into contradiction.
Three cheers for safety
Last week, a University of Kentucky cheerleader performed a stunt he had done dozens of times before. He sprinted toward a mini-trampoline, hit it with both feet and executed a midair flip. His landing was fine, but something went wrong in his next move.
A week before this incident, a 21-year-old North Dakota State cheerleader was declared brain dead after she lost control and tumbled from a three-tiered human pyramid.
When Dale Baldwin, the cheerleader, did a forward roll after the flip, he landed on his neck wrong. His doctor says Baldwin seriously injured his spine and probably will never walk again.
suffering skull fractures
Two young lives were cut short or dramatically altered by cheerleading stunts. It serves as a grim reminder of the danger these students put themselves in to entertain.
The University of Kentucky will discontinue the use of mini-trampolines and threeted pyramids. With hope, other universities will not wait until similar accidents occur before they follow suit.
The importance of the cheerleaders is not to be underestimated. They are vital in keeping up the school spirit and enhancing the fun of the sporting event. However, the fans don't require elaborate and dangerous stunts to get them on their feet.
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New diplomacy- arms for hostages
The Gipper's out to lunch
Lately, I've had a terrible time getting through the first page of the morning newspaper without slamming down my coffee cup on the table and asking, "Is everyone out to lunch at the White House?"
Gil Chavez
Columnist
I know this isn't rational, particularly because I'm not concerned about whether the White House staff goes to Wendy's or McDonald's for their midday grab. What I'm worried about is President Reagan, through the National Security Council, sending $60 million in military equipment to Iran in exchange for the release of two U.S. hostages in Lebanon.
Could the Gipper actually be that dishonest and approve of such a thing? Yes, and he plans to continue doing it in an effort to obtain the release of two more hostages.
A little more than a year and a half ago, after the release of TWA hostages, Ronald Reagan issued a warning to a "condefender of terrorist states," including Libya and Iran. He said the people in the United States would not "tolerate intimidation, terror and outright acts of war against this nation."
Of course the people in the United States won't tolerate terrorism. Even the Rev. Lawrence Jenco, recently freed after 17 months as a hostage, said he would have rather stayed a hostage than had his freedom bought with weapons.
But what about you, Ron? Have you been lying to us, to Congress and to the press?
A few days after the return of the TWA hostages, Reagan said he had just seen "Rambo II" and would deal with terrorists they way Rambo dealt with the North Vietnamese. It was a good line, and the press, blinded by Reagan's charisma, gave his bombast plenty of coverage.
The only problem is that the Middle East isn't Hollywood, and the terrorists aren't movie extras any more than Reagan is "Ronbo."
He's made suckers of us all. He ed the National Security Council, his version of the palace guard, to carry out the dirty deals he didn't want us to know about. If he uses the CIA, he has to tell Congress; if he uses the State Department, then everyone knows about it. But if he uses the NSC, no one knows except him, and a few cloak-and-dagger types.
We condemned France for refusing to let us fly through their air space on our way to bomb Libya. We called them self-serving wimps who wouldn't join in a united fight against terrorism.
It simply undermines our credibility all over the world.
But what about you. Ron? Are you
a self serving winnery, paying off terrorists and lying to everyone? You were the one who nailed Jimmy Carter for taking 444 days to free the U.E. Embassies hostages in Tehran.
Cutting the Iranian deal has sent a message to every coward with an Uzi and a holy mission: U.S. hostages are worth their weight in ground-to-ground missiles.
And Britain, poor Britain. I wonder if Sir Geoffrey Howe, Britain's minister of foreign affairs, feels just a bit betrayed. Just when Britain is trying to muster support for sanctions against Syria for being involved in an attempt to blow up an Israeli airliner, it is revealed that the big, brave United States is buddying up to Iran.
At least Carter gained their freedom without paying a ransom
The NSC is at the heart of this fiasco. Robert McFarlane, who headed the NSC until a year ago, flew to Tehran in a plane carrying military equipment, hoping to establish ties with "moderate" Iranians. Apparently nobody in the White House understands that in Iran, all the moderate Iranians are dead.
The president has told Secretary of State George Schultz not to make any direct statements to the press on the Iranian arms deal There was speculation that Schultz would resign because the arms deals violated U.S. policy concerning terrorism Apparently, he knew about this stuff all along.
Under Poindexter, the NSC introduced shipments to Iran in exchange for Iranian assurances that it would act as a middle-man between the United States and the terrorists. It was also Poindexter's idea to sucker the press into spreading lines that the U.S. was planning another attack on Libya.
If Poindexter's head doesn't roll for this, then we'll know that the White House staff is out to lunch and the palace guard is sacking the palace.
Actually, the president's national security adviser, Vice Adm. John Poindexter, should resign.
Shaking hands with the devil
Like the man who preceded him in office, President Reagan has found himself embarrassed and his policies jeopardized by the actions of the often irrational government of Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini.
Norman D.
Sandler
UPI Commentary
Reagan, whose 1980 electoral victory reflected national frustration over the 444-day Iranian hostage crisis, now finds himself criticized for doing what he said he would never do: negotiate with terrorists, especially the regime of the man who helped bring down Jimmy Carter.
There was no hesitation in his voice when Reagan, in a July 8, 1985, speech to an American Bar Association convention, lumped Iran together with Libya, North Korea, Cuba and Nicaragua as a "new, innovative nation." He was united by "their fantatical hatred of the United States."
The lawyers cheered as Reagan vowed to stand up against terrorism and not tolerate "these attacks from outlaw states run by the strangest collection of misfits, looney tunes and squalid criminals since the advent of the Third Reich."
Since exposure of the bizarre undercover mission to Tehran by former national security adviser Robert McFarlane, however, the administration has changed its tune. The tirades against the sponsors of terrorism have been muted. The indictments against Iran have been
kept under wraps.
What happened was not so much a change in fundamental thinking as in priorities.
The hostage situation in Lebanon appears to have weighed on Reagan much the same way the earlier episode did on Carter. Eventually, with other avenues closed, Reagan had to risk "shaking hands with the devil," as one columnist put it, and turning his back on U.S. policy to achieve his objectives.
Now, however, he finds himself in a quandry exacerbated by the election of a Democratic Congress, which wasted no time seizing on the arms-for-hostages deal with Iran to vent built-up agitation with what some consider a secret foreign policy agenda being carried out by his National Security Council.
Reagan risks damage to his own credibility and that of his administration.
From the day he welcomed home the U.S. citizens held hostage in Iran, just one week into his presidency, Reagan staked out a tough public policy of not dealing with terrorists. An executive order signed by Carter, which barred sales of U.S. arms and military spare parts to Iran and discouraged such sales by other nations, remains in force despite the shipments that appear to have bought freedom for three U.S. hostages in Lebanon.
Reagan has chosen not to explain these apparent discrepancies to the people in the United States or Congress. Instead, he asks for patience, hoping the current furor will die down and enable his operatives to pick up where they left off.
Even if the other U.S. citizens held in Lebanon are released in the next few weeks, there is little doubt the White House will be faced with tough questions to answer and actions to explain once the 100th Congress convenes in January.
Defining religion and politics
William J. Bennett, the secretary of education, seems out to educate the country about the danger of sectarian politics. And it's a good thing, what with Pat Robertson about to offer up his dangerous mix of religion and politics in the form of a presidential campaign.
Paul Greenberg
Columnist
Secretary Bennett, who is no slouch at pushing religious values himself, draws the line at anybody's campaigning as though he had the deity's endorsement. And he's saying so, which has been enough to inspire Robertson to demand an apology. None has been forthcoming, to Bennett's credit.
Indeed, Secretary Bennett responded to Robertson's demand by enlarging on his point, saying, 'I am troubled by anyone who celebrates electoral success by writing 'The Christians have won' or 'What a breakthrough for the Kingdom!'.' These are phrases Robertson used in fund-raising letters to his political supporters. Such boasts are as tasteless as they are dangerous in a society that is based on the separation of church and state, not their promiscuous mixture.
The implication that Jehovah is Pat Robertson's campaign manager is bad enough; the inference that the other candidates must be opposed to the Kingdom or un-Christian, as if they were running on Satan's ticket, is the stuff of which Northern Irelands are made.
This is the kind of divisiveness the Founding Fathers sought to avoid when they ruled out any religious test for public office in this country and prohibited an establishment of religion. The forerunner of the First Amendment was Thomas
Jefferson's Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, which is celebrating its bicentennial this year.
That state paper sums up the philosophy that underlies the First Amendment when it asserts that "our civil rights have no dependence on our religious opinions" — a revolutionary idea then and to some, even now.
There is no separating Thomas Jefferson's
There is no separator legacy from this country's religious history, although those who would like to tear down the wall he built between church and state have tried.
Now it is Pat Robertson who would blur the wholesome line Jefferson drew. William J. Bennett isn't about to let him get
away with it, and neither should the rest of us
In his own way, Bennett has observed the bicentennial of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom by speaking up on behalf of the liberties its author bequeathed posteriorly.
Jefferson knew full well that liberties cannot be inherited but must be asserted from generation to generation if they are to endure. Thomas Jefferson's most precious legacy may be the religious liberty that Americans possess — if we can hold on to it. The Jeffersonian legacy has made this country not only a tolerant and peaceful place for the most part, but a religious place, because there is something about government-issue religion that puts off Americans, and should.
Robertson warns that this criticism of him from the secretary of education could harm the Republican Party. On the contrary, it is Robertson's invocation of the deity on behalf of his own political fortunes that harms not just a political party but a nation, in this case one nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all.
However exciting the new loan program proposed by the Cheers Coalition may appear reality will quickly reduce enthusiasm.
Mailbox
Boos for Cheers
A brief look at Kansas law reveals that any such program would violate the state's rules regarding "doing banking business" without authorization from the Kansas State Banking Board. Even a KU Student Senate Credit Union would be illegal; the activity fee money proposed as the capital for the loan program does not meet statutory requirements.
It is not necessary to cite from Kansas Statutes Annotated and its implementing regulations to point out that any such loan program would have to overcome numerous burdles in the law.
Brady Stanton and his running mate are guilty of failing to do their homework on this issue. It is one thing to make a few calls to Alabama and call it "research." It is quite another to attempt to apply concepts and ideas to the realities of Kansas law and KU.
One plan on their multiventual platform, the sale of lecture notes taken by other students to attend class, has been found to be a violation of KU's code of academic conduct. This idea, like the loan program, was borrowed from another university (Colorado at Boulder).
Stanton and Milligan seem to be running a campaign of well-meaning ignorance. "Vote for us," they seem to say, "for we are without the taint of long experience in the Senate, without knowledge of its procedures and rules, without workable ideas."
Their opponents, in contrast, have long and dedicated experience in the Senate. Their knowledge of rules, regulations and law may sound like so much baffled to the uninitiated, but it bespeaks a knowledge of reality.
Michael Anderson Lawrence third-year law student
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